Happy Holidays: Christmas Edition
by nekkidboothinc
Summary: Booth and Brennan become one another's Christmas miracle. Fourth in the Happy Holidays series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: We're baaaaaack! Did you miss us? We missed you! You know what else we missed? REVIEWS. Yep. The review-whores are back. Like what you see? Let us know! Catcalls welcome! We hope this makes your pre-Christmas craziness feel a little more merry! XOXO, Kinsey and Jamie -- Nekkid Booth Inc.**

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"So what did you do that was so special?"

Temperance Brennan was surprised out of her reverie by the question. "What?"

The rest of her family (she had a _family_—how did that happen?) was on the floor of trailer, watching Russ's two little girls play with their new presents. She, for one, couldn't seem to stop looking out the window, even though there was nothing to see anymore except the gentle flurries of snow. Her brother Russ gave her a pat on the shoulder and a knowing smile. "A man brings his son to a high-security facility on Christmas Eve to light up a tree for a woman and her family…it would make one think that she must be pretty special."

Brennan smiled briefly at her brother before returning her gaze to the falling snowflakes outside. "That's just Booth. He so wants Christmas to be a special experience for everyone." And, as someone who didn't even really _believe _in Christmas, she had to admit that the man had been remarkably successful in making that happen for her. It was no small feat, and she was practically stunned at the force of what she was feeling right now.

It had been a surreal few weeks, ones heightened by the barely-spoken-of knowledge of a potentially monumental change. She and Booth had shared something in New York City on Thanksgiving, something not hidden by disguises or shrouded in mystery. They had been together, held hands, kissed because they had _wanted _to—had wanted each other, and that couldn't be denied. Back home, in D.C., it was a different world. Crimes to be solved, murderers to catch, bones to examine. And they had agreed…_slow. _It wasn't a day at the parade, or a walk in the park here. It was the real world, and they had important work to be done.

So, there had been no more sleeping on one another's shoulders, no dramatic relationship talks since that time. But what _was _there were their meaningful looks, a few stolen kisses, and the unspoken understanding that it just didn't make any sense to close off any possibilities right now. They were too far beyond that. And their Christmas Eve mistletoe kiss, prescribed and carefully supervised by one puckish lawyer named Caroline Julian, had served only to exacerbate the frustration they were being to feel in waiting for their next magic moment.

Russ nudged her. "Look." Her next glance backwards evidenced two very sleepy girls, lolling against their mother trying to keep their eyes open while Max and Russ's girlfriend Amy talked quietly. Brennan smiled at the sight. "You should go," he suggested.

"You're trying to get rid of me already? On our first Christmas together since we were kids?" she teased him gently.

"Well, it's looking as if the girls are Christmased out for the moment. Not to mention that the folks on Cell Block C are expecting some of us to spend at least part of Christmas Eve with them." At least Russ was keeping a sense of humor about this whole situation. "Besides…you still have one more gift left to give."

She looked at him, surprised. "Tonight? Oh no…I'm sure that Booth and Parker are asleep by now. Besides…I wouldn't want to interrupt their holiday together."

Russ looked thoughtful. "Something tells me that they wouldn't really mind." She blushed slightly, and he grinned and put his arm around her, giving her a squeeze. "Love you, Tempe," he whispered, before releasing her and going over the family that he had made for himself, scooping up one tired girl and preparing to wish them adieu before his journey back to "Burma."

Brennan felt her phone in her pocket. She had been given so much on this Christmas Eve day. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to do some giving tonight, as well.

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There were few things Seeley Booth loved more than watching his six-year-old sleep. And not just because the sleeping moments were the few moments a day when Parker was quiet. _Though that has its perks as well,_ he thought with a grin as he watched the little boy napping beneath the flannel snowman sheets.

His cell phone vibrating in the pocket of his red and green plaid flannel pants dragged him out of his reverie and he glanced quickly at the caller id. A grin touched the corners of his mouth as he pulled Parker's door closed (but still open far enough for a sliver of hall-light to fall across the bed) and headed for the living room. "Hey, Bones," he whispered.

"Hey. I woke you, didn't I?" she asked guiltily.

"No, no, not at all. I was just watching Parker sleep. Didn't want to wake him. What's up?"

"I, um, I was going to see… I have your Christmas gift."

"Oh, uh, okay, well, hmm. We might have to do that when you get back from Peru. I've got to wake Park in a little bit for Midnight Mass."

"I, uh, I skipped Peru. To spend tonight with my family. I could drop your gift off before you go," Brennan offered.

"Now, _Bones_," he began, dragging out her nickname so it was two syllables long, "you could just wait until tomorrow. Do you really want to see me that bad?" he teased.

"Booth," she admonished, feeling a grin tugging at her lips. "I was just trying to be efficient. I just--"

He cut her off. "I want to see you too, Temperance."

She paused, and Booth grinned as he pictured her blushing a thousand shades of red, which lately, felt like the normal reaction when he said her given name in that husky murmur.

"Okay, then, so, I'll uh, I'll drop it by?"

"Bones, I don't supposed you'd consider going to Midnight Mass with us." Booth even surprised _himself_ with his sudden request, but he wondered which one of them was more surprised by her quick answer.

"Sure."

"Really?"

"I just have on jeans and a sweater, do I have time to change? This is a dressy thing, right?"

Booth chuckled lightly. "Jeans and a sweater is fine, Bones. The Catholic church isn't as uptight as they'd like you to believe. But yes, if you want to change, you have time. It's ten. Midnight Mass starts at--"

"Midnight, I suppose?"

"Exactly."

"Well what are you wearing?" she asked.

Booth laughed again. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Tell me."

"Plaid flannel pants and a smile, baby."

"To _church_?"

"Oh," he stammered. "Uh, well, jeez, uh, no. That's, uh, what I have on right now. Damn, Bones. How is it that my mind just slides into the gutter whenever you open that pretty mouth?"

Thankfully, in synchrony with his own embarrassment, he heard that blush-signifying pause again. But then, she boldly played the honesty card. "You're not the only one," she murmured, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Glad to hear it," he replied.

"Okay, Booth. Before this gets completely out of hand and you distract me any further and I wreck my car, I'm going to hang up. Then I'm going to go home and change, then I'm going to come over. Okay?"

"Sounds good. See you soon."

"Soon," she replied, and the phone clicked off. Soon.

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As she dialed Booth's number on her way home, she was caught between hoping for voice mail and hoping for the man himself; she figured he would be asleep, or about there, and she hadn't wanted to bother him…not after he had done this amazing thing for her family on this night. And she wasn't even exactly sure how to express her gratitude for him right now; she could just imagine herself stumbling, red-faced, over the words, and she wasn't looking forward to that. But a force much stronger than her nervousness impelled her to make the call. And…well, she just _really _wanted to see him.

And of course, he called her on it. Damn. Was she that transparent? Sometimes when she talked to him she felt like such…

A _woman._

But somehow, he didn't make feeling like a woman feel half-bad.

He was going to Mass. She should have known that…sometimes she almost forgot that he had this part of his life that was really quite foreign to her. A while back, they had drawn that line…she would know Booth as the loyal F.B.I. agent, and her devoted partner and friend. The other parts of him…Booth the father, the son, the Catholic, the lover…all those were off-limits to her (especially the last on that list—she had spent large amounts of time trying to turn her thoughts from _that _particular possibility). But since Halloween…In thinking about that, she had a sudden, itching curiosity for a glimpse inside of those other parts of his world, to see what made Booth the man he was. The man that made her feel…well, feel like it was Christmas.

And as if reading her mind (_that _was a frightening thought, considering the directions her mind had been going lately), he offered to let her in. "Bones, I don't supposed you'd consider going to Midnight Mass with us." His voice sounded endearingly tentative and unsure. Another chip in the wall that kept them from one another. She took hold of what he was offering quickly.

"Sure."

"Really?" He sounded so flummoxed by the fact that she agreed, that she was almost surprised he asked in the first place. Maybe he had just been asking to be polite…she asked if she had time to change, just to give him an out if he needed one. But of course not. She had plenty of time to get home, change, and make it back to Booth's apartment. If she didn't wreck her car into a snowdrift first from the images he created of himself getting dressed. Her mind took a brief detour to the tactile memory of running her hands over his newly exposed body in a lightless room. Damn. _Not _conducive to driving.

She managed to stay on the road pretty well. It was at home that started having trouble. Shedding her jeans and sweater, she pawed through her closet. She had outfits for work. For book signings, conferences, presentations. Even for the rare romantic date. But what the hell was she supposed to wear for _church? _She immediately reminded herself not to swear and talk about church in the same breath with Booth. And his son. She was going to church with Booth and his son. She didn't belong in church. She was probably going to embarrass them. On Christmas. What the hell was she thinking? Damn, that swearing again. In desperation, she picked up the phone to call Angela, one person who she knew would definitely be up on Christmas Eve night.

"Sweetie! Well I wasn't expecting to hear from _you _again tonight. Merry almost-Christmas!"

"Thanks, Ange. Are you busy?"

"For you? The decorating can wait. How did things go with your family tonight?"

"Good. Really wonderful, actually." Brennan briefly forgot about her wardrobe dilemma when she remembered her nieces' shouts of joy, seeing Booth's makeshift Christmas tree. Bringing her mind back to the task in front of her, she shook off her smile. "I need to know what to wear to church."

"Church?" She could hear her friend muffling a cackle over the phone. "Oh, Brennan. Sexy Halloween costumes, I've got your back. But church? I'm not sure how to help you there."

"You got _married _in one. That couldn't have been the first time you went."

"Well, no…but I wouldn't say that I dress traditionally. Why are you going to church? You haven't gotten all religious on me, have you? I hope not, because I'm planning one hell of a bachelorette party this time around and you are ordering in the strippers, my friend." Brennan heard Jack Hodgins shouting something in the background, and Angela's reply of "Don't worry, baby. They are only window dressing. You're the only one I'm taking home."

She sighed in frustration. This was not helpful. "I'm going to Midnight Mass with Booth and Parker in about…" she checked her watch…"forty-five minutes. I'd preferably like to _not _embarrass them."

Angela's tone changed. "Booth and Parker, huh?" Her grin was almost audible.

"Ange…" Brennan warned.

"I didn't say _anything," _was the emphatic reply. "I just repeated what you said. Booth and Parker. I am _all business. _You still have that long burgundy velvet jobbie? The one with the pretty neckline and the open back?"

"Yeeeeees," Brennan drew out, her fingers tip-toeing through her closet until she found the dress that Angela was alluding to. "Are you sure that's appropriate?"

"It's perfect. Perfect color, covers just enough, _uncovers _just enough, you look gorgeous in it. Wear it with your wrap at church. And take _off _the wrap when you get back to Booth's."

"Have I mentioned that his _son _is with him?"

"Have I mentioned that I only meant it would be warmer back at Booth's place, so you won't need the wrap?" Angela's voice was full of syrupy innocence. Brennan had to repress a smile at her friend's barely-hidden intentions. She hadn't given Angela too many dirty details about her recent holiday activities with Booth. But she did tell her that they were getting closer…and that they were no longer quite so adamant about remaining "just partners." Her friend had sighed in relief at that particular bombshell. "Well thank _God _you are giving up on that ruse," she had said, making Brennan roll her eyes.

"Thanks for your help, Ange. I'm going to let you get back to your decorating and get myself dressed."

"Are you sure? Because I can come and hold your hand through this if you need me too…"

"Very funny." Brennan felt the very childish urge to stick out her tongue right now, and she wondered if Booth and Parker were rubbing off on her. "Talk to you later." After she hung up, she took a handful of the wine-colored velvet hesitantly. Was Angela right? Well, she certainly couldn't go to Mass in her underwear. Although she and Booth might do well at _skipping _church in their underwear…

"_SLOWLY, Tempe," _her mind scowled at her. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered out loud, pulling the dress from the hanger and unzipping it so she could step inside. _"Think about the anthropological significance of this ceremony, and how it shaped the traditions and culture of so many people in this society. Use it as an opportunity to better understand Booth and his family. Use it as an opportunity to plan your grocery list. But whatever you do, _don't _spend too much time wondering what Booth has on under his dress clothes." _

Distracting herself from…distracting herself, she busied herself with trying to look some semblance of elegant. She could do this. She _would _do this, because Booth had given her an incredible gift tonight, and he deserved to have the things that were important to _him _honored.

Before she left, she remembered to grab her wrap and the final present from atop her dresser, feeling a quick stab of insecurity over whether or not she should have gotten him this particular memento. This was followed by a much more pleasant stab of faith that he, of all people, would never make her feel anything less than brilliant.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So last chap, in all our review-whoreship, we forgot something very, very important. Last holiday was so busy that we didn't get a chance to individually thank everyone who reviewed the Thanksgiving series. So now, we say...thank you, thank you. _Thank you. _It made us so very happy, and we are gonna try our hardest to show our appreciation to each and every one of you in turn this time. This wouldn't be nearly as fun if we didn't get to interact with all our super-fab reviewers. Without y'all reading, all we are are just two more DB-obsessed, tv-loving fangirls. But you...you make us feel special:) Love.**

**Btw, this edition is a multi-chap, like Halloween was! So keep encouraging us for lots of holiday sexiness to come. Love, Jamie & Kinsey (aka NekkidBoothInc).**

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Booth hung up his phone, a grin still splitting his face. He couldn't think of _anywhere_ he'd rather be tonight than Midnight Mass with the two most important people in his world. He moved quickly into his bedroom to change, shucking his plaid pants (smile still firmly in place) for a pair of dark blue jeans. He pulled on a white tee shirt, followed by a dark red dress shirt and a black cashmere sweater over that. Scrubbing a hand over his dark hair, he padded back down the hall to Parker's room to rouse his small son.

"Park," he whispered, pushing the bedroom door open. "Wake up, Pal. Time for church." The little boy stirred only slightly at his father's voice. "C'mon, Buddy," Booth sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the six-year-old's back gently. "Hey, Park. Guess what? Bones is coming with us tonight."

"Really?" Parker muttered sleepily.

"Mhm. So c'mon. Get up. What do you want to wear?"

Parker sat up, rubbing the sleep from his sparkling brown eyes. "Jeans and a sweater. Like yours."

Booth stood and pulled open Parker's closet door. "Blue shirt okay?" he asked, his back to the little boy. He waited for a response, but received none. "Park?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder and stifling a chuckle. The little boy had fallen back against the pillows and was out like a light again. Booth had a feeling this was going to be like every year. Parker sleeping until the last second possible, and Booth having to practically dress him like an infant. He shook his head and smiled at his son. "P. Wake up, Bub." Parker stirred again and Booth laughed, pulling the blue shirt and black sweater from Parker's closet and digging a pair of dark blue jeans from the bottom dresser drawer. He set the clothes and a pair of socks on the bed and tried to rouse his son again. "C'mon, Parker. Get dressed and then you can nap on the couch until it's time to go, I promise." Parker woke again and looked at his dad. "Why does Midnight Mass have to be at midnight?"

"So that the first official thing we think about on Christmas Day is Jesus, instead of presents," Booth answered honestly.

"Oh. Okay," Parker responded. "If I promise to think about Jesus right away when I get up, can we change Midnight Mass so it's not at midnight?"

Booth laughed again. "I think you'd have to take that up with the pope, Buddy. Sorry."

Parker sighed dramatically, stripping off his white tee shirt and shrugging into the blue dress shirt his dad handed him. "O-kaaaay," he agreed reluctantly.

The doorbell rang, signaling Brennan's arrival. Booth stood and kissed the top of Parker's head. "Get dressed, Pal. And try to stay awake. I'm going to go let Dr. Brennan in."

He moved quickly to the living room, pulling open the front door and losing his breath. "You look… gorgeous," he complimented. The past weeks since that day in New York City all flooded his memory at once. The last time they'd talked about whatever it was that they were doing (slowly, they'd agreed), the lingering looks they'd shared, the nights he'd dropped her at her apartment after they'd stayed up late going over case files (even though he wanted nothing more than to take her home and straight to bed), the few stolen kisses they couldn't seem to stop, and most recently, the way she'd thanked him for the Christmas tree he and Parker had brought her family. _I love my gift, Booth, _she'd said. He fought a shiver at the memory of the words.

"Thank you," Brennan replied, no longer quite sure what to do with the wrapped box in her hands. She laughed awkwardly and smiled up at Booth. "You don't look half-bad yourself," she murmured.

He smiled his thanks and stepped back from the door, allowing her inside. "That for me?" he asked, pointing to the box in her hands.

"Oh! Um, yes," she handed it over and he took it to the tree, placing it gently underneath. She had moved quietly behind him, and when he turned around he was nearly standing on her feet. They both laughed (awkwardly again) and Booth smoothed a hand over her hair, the sable curls sliding through his fingers.

"Damn, Bones. I really want to kiss you right now."

Her bright smile and whispered question of what was stopping him moved him a step closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist gently as hers came up around his neck, her fingers threading gently into the short hairs at the nape of his neck. He smiled as she tipped her head back, her lips parted and ready for the kiss he dropped gently on her mouth. The heat from it seared him to the bone, effectively dragging him back to two days earlier, when she'd slid her tongue against his beneath the mistletoe in her office. Only this time, there was no puckish attorney playing supervisor.

When she broke the kiss to whisper an apology for not having any gum to give him, he knew she was having the same memory; and while there was no Caroline Julian, there was a Parker Booth who made his presence known in short order.

"Euuyuck, guys."

"Someday kissing a pretty girl won't gross you out, Parker," Seeley promised with a smile.

"That's never gonna happen, Daddy. Girls are disgusting."

"Thanks a lot, Parker," Brennan teased.

"Well. Most girls, Bones. Not you."

"Nice save, Pal. You ready?" Booth asked.

Parker nodded and moved toward the door, a soft clicking noise coming from his feet.

"Shoe's untied, Pal," his father advised.

"I know. I couldn't get it. The laces on these ones are too slippery," he said, shrugging into his ski jacket. "Bones, can you tie it for me?" he asked sweetly.

"Uh, sure," Brennan agreed tentatively, kneeling down to his level, conscious of her knee-length dress. Parker put his foot gently in her lap and she laced up his black dress shoe. "Want me to double knot them so they don't come untied again?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, please," Parker replied.

Brennan's wrap fell down over her shoulders when she bent down to tie Parker's shoe. Booth was torn between smiling at the tenderness with which she treated his son, and groaning at all the tantalizing skin on display.

"There you go, Parker. All set," Brennan pronounced.

"Thanks, Bones," Parker replied. "Why ya starin' at Bones like that, Dad?" Parker asked, effectively outing which path Booth had chosen.

Temperance and Seeley both blushed. "I _wasn't_, Parker," Seeley assured him, somewhat tersely, then continued, "Let's go, huh? We're gonna be late."

Brennan readjusted her wrap and followed the Booth boys out into the Christmas Eve frost.

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So it was only _moderately _embarrassing to be caught kissing her partner under the twinkling Christmas tree lights by his inquisitive son. At the time, she was convinced that her embarrassment was due to worry about the boy's reaction. It would occur to her later that Parker was the first to witness this act of intimacy between her and Booth. Somehow, that made it more real, this thing that they were doing, and that shift caused her body to flush warmly.

Well, she might as well get used to vaguely awkward new situations, because tonight was going to be full of them, she realized as she was charged with tying a six-year-old's shoe. Awkward…but not bad. Actually, looking up into the little boy's charming smile and round face, she felt something approaching tenderness and contentment. _"Oxytocin,"_ logical Tempe reminded her. _"Being around children stimulates a biological reaction in women that is responsible for warm feelings—the so-called maternal instinct. Important for the survival of the species." _That made her feel a little bit better.

"Why ya starin' at Bones like that, Dad?"

There was the biological attachment response that made spending time with Parker enjoyable…and also the entertainment value, she admitted to herself ruefully, as she returned to her increasingly-normal shade of pink. As Booth stuttered his denial, she grinned inwardly. _"Hopefully, Parker, Dad is staring at Bones because her best friend led her to the correct choice of dress this evening. And because she is driving Dad half as crazy as he is her right now." _It was both a relief and a disappointment when they left for somewhere less private.

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"So what did you think, Bones?" Booth asked quietly. They were in the Tahoe on their way back to Seeley's, Parker sound asleep in the back seat.

"I loved it," she replied honestly.

"Really?" Booth asked incredulously.

"You sound surprised, Booth. Just because I don't necessarily believe in a custom, doesn't mean I don't still find the ritual beautiful," she teased gently.

"I just… you always say… I mean…"

"Stop digging, Seeley," she advised with a smile. Even in the darkened vehicle, she could see the blush creep up his cheeks. "I liked it a lot," she assured him. Reaching across the center console, she squeezed his knee gently. "I didn't know Catholics were allowed to make out in church," she grinned.

"I wasn't… you're _trying_ to make me stammer like an idiot, aren't you?"

"And it's working so well."

"It wasn't making out. During Mass, it's customary for Catholics to share a sign of peace. Usually you just shake hands with those around you, but it's also okay to kiss or hug people you… are close to."

"I see," she answered thoughtfully. "So since you and I are… so close… God is okay with you putting your tongue in my mouth."

"So I got a little carried away," Booth muttered. "I didn't hear you complaining."

Brennan laughed lightly. "And you won't hear me complain any time you kiss me," she said, a little coyly.

He said nothing, only smiled and laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

The rest of the drive was made in silence between the two partners, the only sounds coming from the little boy snoring softly in the back seat, his mouth open in sheer exhaustion. When they got back to Booth's, Brennan got out and opened Parker's door, lifting the still-sleeping six-year-old gently out of his seat. He stirred momentarily, but quickly fell back to sleep, nestling his face into Brennan's neck. Booth noticed this, and reached out. "I can take him, Bones."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. Booth shut Parker's door and stepped around his partner, going in front of her so he could get the door opened for her. When he did, she smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said softly, a smile touching the corners of his mouth. When they got inside, he took his son from her, indicating that she should have a seat in the living room while he put Parker to bed.

Pulling back the covers on Parker's bed, he stripped the little boy down and put him back in his pajamas. "Daddy," Parker said, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, Bub?"

"I really like Bones."

Seeley smiled, pulling the covers up to Parker's chin and brushing the mop of curls on his forehead. "Me too, Parker. Me too." He dropped a kiss on his son's head and went to the door. "Love you, Bub." A barely audible response came from the pile of sleepy little boy in the snowman sheets.

Booth grinned, pulling the door shut almost all the way and flipping on the hall light as he walked past it.

Bones looked up as Seeley stepped back into the living room. "Out like a light," he pronounced.

Brennan nodded and smiled from her position by the bookcase. Seeley crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. "This is nice," he said.

"The park," Brennan murmured, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"The park," he agreed, remembering the conversation they'd had in New York. He paused, rubbing slow circles on her bare back. "Think I could convince you to go camping?" he asked.

She looked up, a surprised expression marring her beautiful features. "In December?"

"No," he sighed, upset that the woman who'd come up with the city versus park metaphor was not understanding his twist on it. "Camping. The park? Bones, I'm asking you if maybe you'd stay the night. Open presents with us in the morning?"

"Oh. Camping," she replied thoughtfully. "What about Parker?" she asked.

"Bones," he began, smoothing his hand over her hair. "For one, he'd be thrilled to have you here in the morning, but I know that's not really what you're asking. Parker knows you're important to me. You're important to both of us. He's a smart kid. He knows I don't bring just any girl home. At least not when he's here," he couldn't help but tease her a little.

"Funny," she shoved him. "I don't know, you have been known to have sex with random wildcat women at parties."

"I think you and I both are starting to realize how completely _un-random_ that night really was," he whispered, touching his forehead to hers, kissing her gently.

"Are you sucking up to me, Seeley Booth?" she asked, her eyes drifting shut.

"Is it working?"

"Probably," she smiled. "You promise my being here isn't going to scar Parker for life?"

"Nah. Your bed-head might. But your being here won't."

"Okay," she acquiesced. "Let's go camping."

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Brennan hadn't lied to Booth…the anthropologist in her was fascinated by the symbolism and tradition inherent in the ritual she was watching. She had seen numerous religious ceremonies in many different cultures, and the elaborate attention to ceremony—and the obvious faith of those who were practicing it—always struck her in a particularly personal place. The need to believe in something greater than what was in this world…it was obviously well-ingrained in most all people, regardless of their culture. She observed intently, once catching Booth looking at her with an indistinguishable expression on his face. Maybe he was wondering about the messages she was receiving from the service, and just how different her perception was from his own. Maybe, later, they'd talk about it, and help each other see it with new eyes.

She had apparently habituated to the extraordinary over the course of the night, and once the service was over, riding back to Booth's place, with his son sleeping in the back of the car, didn't feel awkward at all. Parker sat behind her in the Tahoe, so it felt completely natural to be the one to extract him from the vehicle and carry him inside. Booth took him up to bed, like the father he was. One of those parts of him that she had rarely seen. Up until now.

If she sat down, she might fall asleep for sure, so she dropped her wrap on the couch and wandered around Booth's living room, examining the details. Such a long, strange day. She had practically gone decades avoiding this holiday, not having the family that made it meaningful. And today, she had been with her biological family. With her Jeffersonian family. And with Booth and Parker. She lingered by the bookcase, running her fingers along the spines. The books she had written had their own shelf, lined up chronologically from left to right. A surge of pride filled her for having those pieces of herself here, although that was silly…her books were on thousands of bookshelves across the country. But these copies…they looked…taken-care-of, were the words that come to her mind.

"Out like a light." She turned around to face Booth, and stepped into his embrace as if it were the most natural thing in the universe, burying her face into the soft cashmere of his sweater. It felt good. She felt just a little disheartened at the fact that it was a goodbye hug…she had made this wonderful day last as long as she could, but it had to come to an end soon.

Unless…

Camping, he said. After her initial confusion, recognition dripped into her tired conscious viscously. Warmth pooled into her. Sleeping over? With Booth? Intuitively, she knew he didn't mean sex. Not that he didn't want her. Temperance Brennan had enough experience to know a man in lust when she saw one. But this was Mr. Take-it-Slow that she was dealing with. He wanted her to lie next to him in his bed. Cuddle with him under the covers. Wake up looking into his eyes. Her heart thumped so hard at the thought that she wouldn't have been surprised to know he felt it against his own chest.

_Get a grip, Tempe. You've slept in the same bed with men before. _Somehow, despite her internal attempt at reassurance, her heart with its frantic tattooing against her ribs was insisting that this was not even close to anything she had ever done before.

She worried about Parker. He told her she didn't have to. She teased him about his (their) Halloween indiscretion. His reply hinted at the knowledge that she had been increasingly unsuccessful at denying. Halloween night wouldn't have happened if neither recognized the body under the costumes. The costumes served as an excuse to give into what they were feeling, without dealing with all the complications that came along with it. Although, right now, things weren't feeling terribly complicated…

"Okay. Let's go camping."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Aww, you guys are the best...so glad that your hearts are as warmed by the idea of B/B Christmas lovin' as ours are. As a gift for being such amazing, encouraging reviewers, here is an extra-long chap for you. Hope you enjoy! Love, Jamie & Kinsey (aka NekkidBoothInc).**

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He let her choose which of his tee-shirts she wanted to sleep in. She took that decision very seriously, taking about five minutes to pick a faded Pink Floyd shirt, soft from being washed hundreds of time. She was holding it up to her body when he emerged from the bathroom, clad in those flannel pants that he had teased her with earlier. A glance at his bare-chested form made her stomach leap wildly. Oh God.

It was crazy. She had touched his chest before. Yes, she remembered…his shirt had snaps, if she recalled, and she hadn't been shy about seeking the handful of his body that she wanted. And then hands hadn't been enough…_those _were the defined muscles that she had run her tongue over before he pulled her demandingly to his mouth. Her memories began editing themselves…she no longer saw in her mind a sexy cowboy in a strange room. She saw Booth. And, God help her, it was hot.

She turned her head quickly, blushing furiously. "Where should I…uh…"

There was no way he could miss his effect on her, but for once, he let her off the hook and feigned modesty. "You should be glad I like you," he grinned. "That's one of my favorite shirts." Taking hold of her shoulders, he kissed her forehead. "The bathroom. I left you a new toothbrush in there. I didn't think we are at the 'sharing toothbrushes' stage of our partnership."

She laughed, grateful for his breaking the almost unbearable tension that she was feeling with his joke. "No offense, Booth. But we might never be at that stage."

He shrugged. "I wouldn't be so sure." And even though she knew he was teasing, it set her heart fluttering again. He was playing gently with the tie of her dress at the back of her neck. "You didn't seem very adverse to sharing your gum with me earlier."

"I'm going to go get changed," she said quickly, escaping from his grasp and into the bathroom as quickly as possible, before her "I don't care" side convinced her that her birthday suit was a much better choice than his tee-shirt to change into. She wasn't in disguise anymore—there was no excuse for her wantonness, and she was a little embarrassed by it. _"Slowly, Tempe." _Once she shut the door to the bathroom, she took a deep breath before beginning to undress.

Once she shut the door to the bathroom, she took a deep breath before beginning to undress. Once the top was untied and the back was unzipped, the dress fell easily down over her body and puddle at her feet, leaving her in her bra and panties.

While she gazed in the mirror, another memory hit her…how easily he had unhooked her bra while she stood against the wall, how he kissed her hotly while his hands touched her, somehow rough and gentle at the same time. And then when he put his mouth on her body, she had cursed those damn stiletto heels for making it so difficult to move the way she wanted to right then…

A cold splash of water onto her face helped to bring her back to the present. Tonight wasn't about sex. She hurriedly took off her bra and dropped Booth's shirt over her head, instantly becoming enveloped in one of the scents that she associated with him. The material brushed against her over-sensitized nipples, and they responded eagerly to this minimal stimulation. She could sometimes get her mind back on track, but there was no telling her body to settle down. Traitor.

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Several times in their three year partnership (and at least twice a day since Thanksgiving), Seeley had imagined the first time he'd see Bones in his bedroom. His imagination had created several pictures. Her tripping backward as he propelled her across the threshold kissing her like she was his sustenance. Her running ahead of him, sending him teasing glances over her shoulder. Him carrying her in his arms, kissing her like she was his sustenance he liked the version where she was tripping backward better -- that one was less cheesy. And his personal favorite: her dragging him by his tie, letting herself remain just out of reach of his grabbing hands. But none of his fantasies had been quite this platonic.

"Uh, Booth, this dress isn't exactly made for sleeping in…" Bones pointed out.

Instead of saying what was running through his head (the word "naked" on a scrolling marquee), Booth yanked open the top drawer of his dresser. His beloved tee-shirt collection. If she didn't know she was important to him after this, he wasn't doing his job. "Take your pick," he offered. He waited for a moment while she sifted through them, studying each shirt closely as if making the wrong decision would inspire him to eradicate her from his life.

"I think AC/DC," she said with a nod.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Maybe. Or…Maybe Scarface instead?"

Booth chuckled lightly. "Take your time, Bones. I'm gonna go brush my teeth and put some sweats on."

She nodded again, still rifling through the tee shirt drawer. He stepped into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. From where he was he could see her reflection in the mirror. He stripped quickly, grabbing the heap of red and gray plaid flannel in the corner and pulling the pants on. He loaded his toothbrush and watched her in the mirror as he scrubbed. It appeared as though she had narrowed her choices down to AC/DC, Scarface, and Pink Floyd. She examined each shirt with the same precision she would a pile of bones in her lab, which made him smile around the foamy paste in his mouth. She set the Scarface one aside first – good thing, he didn't know if he wanted Al Pacino all over his girl. She'd narrowed it down to AC/DC and Pink Floyd. Which would she choose? Back in Black or Dark Side of the Moon? She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully as she held up each tee shirt. He tried to guess her choice and why she'd make it. But as always, just as he was about to say she'd go with Brian and the boys, she surprised him and chose Pink Floyd. Typical Bones. Keeping him guessing even down to her choices in pajamas.

He spat the toothpaste in the sink and rinsed with a cupful of mouthwash. He spat that out and rinsed the sink, sucking air in through his teeth to enjoy the minty-clean flavor. When he went to put the mouthwash back in the medicine chest, he grabbed an unwrapped toothbrush off the shelf and put it on the counter. Satisfied with his own thoughtfulness, he stepped back into the bedroom and cleared his throat. "Pick one?" he asked. She held the Pink Floyd shirt up to her chest.

"I think so," she blushed bashfully, but he could feel the truth radiating from her in waves of heat from her blue eyes raking over his body. It was all he could do not to puff out his chest and ask her if she liked what she saw. Instead he just let the corner of his mouth kick up in a half-smile as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb of the bathroom.

"Pink Floyd, huh? He asked. "You should be glad I like you," he smiled, crossing the room with a lazy stride. "That's one of my favorite shirts," he mentioned, tempting himself by running his hands up her bare arms to her shoulders. Even though his baser instincts were screaming out for him to do more, he kissed her gently on her forehead and told her she could change in the bathroom. Somehow it turned him on to no end that the hedonistic catwoman from Halloween was playing the modesty card with him.

He smiled at his private joke and mentioned to her that he'd left her a toothbrush on the counter, and in an attempt to put her a little more at ease, teased that he didn't think they were at the toothbrush sharing stage of their partnership. She retorted that that might never happen, and as the words were tumbling out of her mouth, his mind was seared with the memory of her tongue slipping an "already-been-chewed" piece of winterfresh Extra into his mouth. He sifted the soft velvet ties of her dress through his fingers, itching to shift his hand up slightly so it was in her hair instead. Her eyes darkened as he teased her about slipping him her gum (and her tongue) and he avoided the urge to kiss her. For the seven billionth time that night. She darted away to change and he kicked himself for scaring her off. "_Smooth, Seel. Exactly what part of the "go slow" plan is it that you're having a tough time with?"_

Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he flopped onto the unmade bed, reading himself the riot act. _"You're lucky she's even still here, you schmuck. Get. Your shit. Together. P-Ronto."_ Picking a copy of Men's Health up off the nightstand, he flipped it open and read the first headline his eyes landed on. _237 Reasons to Have Sex._ Well, obviously those guys at Men's Health hadn't ever been privy to Dr. Temperance Brennan in their lives and in their bedrooms. He could come up with about 237 _thousand_ reasons to have sex with her, just off the top of his head. However, thinking about that was going to take this from platonic to her punching him in the head in a hurry, so he shoved the magazine into the nightstand drawer and went to work keeping himself from getting any other bright ideas. Halfway through the 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers roster, he heard the bathroom door open back up and the light click off, seeing the room being bathed in darkness out of the corner of his eye.

"Ready for bed?" she asked huskily from the doorway.

He clenched his jaw to keep it from dropping to the floor, but he was too far gone to keep his eyes from bugging out of his head. He made a mental note to apologize for ogling her later. Much later. The black tee shirt hung on her, skimming the tops of her thighs, leaving what seemed like a mile of skin between her knees and her burgundy-painted toenails for him to peruse. His eyes traced the rainbow on the shirt from her left breast, through the triangle prism, to the ray of light coming out on the other side, ending at her right breast. He forced his eyes back up to her face, the slight grin on her lips not lost on him. He swallowed thickly and nodded. He opened his mouth to say something witty or reassuring, but all that came out was the only thought that his mind seemed capable of processing right now. "You look good in my shirt," he blurted out. Her smile looked vaguely amused at his increasing lack of smoothness. Unable to verbalize any other coherent thought at the moment, he pulled back the covers for her to slip in next to him.

She crossed the room and slid between the sheets, spooning herself against his body. He set his glasses on the nightstand, reached above his shoulder and flipped the bedside lamp off, wrapping his arms around her waist and snuggling his head into the crook of her neck. He breathed deeply, wanting to memorize the citrusy scent of her shampoo mixed with the light floral of her perfume and the mint on her breath from his toothpaste. "Night, Bones," he whispered, kissing her cheek gently.

She turned her head slightly and pressed a sweet kiss on his lips. "Goodnight, Seeley."

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She had to smile at the sight of her partner reclining on the bed, glasses in place but not reading, but obviously concentrating on something very intently. Probably, if he were anything like her, trying to catch up mentally to this new place in which they had found themselves.

"Ready for bed?" His gaze fell on her at her words, and she saw the change in his face as his eyes fixated on the place where his tee-shirt ended and her bare skin began. She smiled, both amused and relieved to not be alone in this. Standing for a moment, she gave him the opportunity to look at her, the way she had looked at him when he had strode out of the bathroom with his devastating smile and his muscled chest. It struck her that his current reaction to her surpassed that of other men when she had been wearing her sexiest lingerie. The pleasure and pride that this realization brought to her went a long way in soothing away any lingering insecurities. As did his impromptu assessment of her choice in sleepwear. Words were certainly not their strong point tonight.

Gratefully, she accepted his invitation to join him under the covers. The space underneath them was warm with his body heat, and everything that smelled like him and felt like him surrounded her. Naturally, her body curled into his, her back to his chest, her bottom to his hips, and his knees nestled into the backs of hers. His arms enfolded her, and she felt his breath on the back of her neck. And despite all the amazing memories that had taken residence in her mind in the past few years…months…days…hell, the past 24 hours…she was unable to remember a single instance in which she had felt so safe and content.

"Night, Bones." His lips were incredibly warm and tender against her face, and she instinctively turned her head, wanting them against her own.

"Goodnight, Seeley." She snuggled her back against him a little closer, and wrapped her arms overtop his to pull them tighter. How was it possible for something to feel so new, yet so natural at the same time? That was the kind of paradox that typically bothered her—two internal experiences that shouldn't be able to exist in the same plane. She hadn't expected to sleep quickly or well. All her nerves seemed to be on alert, waiting in anticipation for the next new thing. But she had apparently underestimated her tiredness, not to mention the relaxing effect of feeling completely, one hundred percent safe. Her eyes fluttered shut. She slept. She didn't dream. It remained this way for some time…who knows how long? Twenty minutes? An hour? Longer? When one of their bodies shifted, the other conformed, automatically adjusting to the new position and joining it.

When she woke again fully, it was because of cold feet. Not of the figurative sort, surprisingly. But she should have asked Booth for a pair of socks. Curling up her frigid toes, she assessed the situation. At some point, they had flipped around; now, it was her breasts pressed against his back, and her arm slung around his middle while they laid on their sides. Hmm. Pulling up her knees, she wormed her toes between Booth's flannel-covered calves. _Much _better. Sighing in appreciation, she relaxed again, letting her feet grow warm. Booth was breathing deeply and rhythmically, and she could feel his diaphragm expanding and releasing under her fingertips. The feeling intrigued her. Moving carefully so as not to wake him, she trailed her fingers across the hard, smooth planes of his lower stomach, then upwards, lingering on each defined abdominal muscle that she came across. Then upwards still, across his ribcage to his pectorals, circling them gently, scraping a fingernail lightly across his right nipple and feeling it tighten in response.

She wasn't quite sure why she was torturing herself this way, but her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, having been denied for so long. _"Go back to sleep, Tempe. Your time will come." _With great effort, she slid her hand back to it's original position on his hip, and she settled back into the pillow. Her face was positioned right at the nape of his neck, and that particular spot seemed to emanate the spicy scent of his leftover cologne and whatever shampoo he used. She had gotten her roving fingers under control. But now her lips couldn't resist the smooth, warm skin in front of them. Light as a feather, she pressed her lips against the back of his neck. Mmm. And again. And now her body, feet included, seemed to have gotten plenty warm. The tip of her tongue flicked out softly and tasted him there, and she fought back a moan at the flavor. Never had a man tasted so good. She dropped her head back to the pillow with a small murmur of frustration. The slow thing? Not her forte.

But apparently, Booth could move pretty fast when he wanted to. She supposed she knew that, considering her memories of last Halloween. Before the gasp of surprise fully left her lips, he had flipped over. His face was right there at hers, and she felt his hot breath at her mouth. His hand cupped her face, and his knee rested on her hip. His expression was tormented.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean…" she whispered, but she couldn't finish her apology.

"_Don't. Stop." _He hissed the words urgently, as if he were a dying man begging for water in the desert. His mouth closed in on hers, frantically.

_There _was the sexy cowboy she remembered, the one who had kissed her like he wanted to devour her, tongue taking over her mouth with avarice. And while this response was unexpected, the frustrated part of her delighted in his greediness and countered with its own. One of her hands went to the back of his head, and the other went to his hip and pulled at the same time as she arched her own hips, trying to convey what she had been wanting for so long. _'Against me. No distance. No space. Let me feel you, dammit.' _

And even though it's what she wanted, needed, was _begging _for…she very nearly passed out from the feel of his erection, hot and hard and thick and not at all disguised by the soft material of his flannel pants, pressed against her pelvis, grinding into her through her panties. She had a brief flashback of Halloween—what she had felt at the moment he slid into her, the sweet push and pull that became that mindblowing fuck—but that only lasted a second before she was back in the here and now. This was no memory. And there was certainly no mistaking the man kissing her right now for a stranger. She and he would have to deal with this in the morning. She dragged her mouth away from him. He immediately went for her throat, licking and sucking the sensitive skin there. "Booooooth…" She barely recognized her own strangled whisper. Her hips involuntarily bucked against his, and her lower extremities filled with a warm, liquid sensation.

Her saying his name seemed to bring him back from the edge a little. Just a little. "Bones. God. I want…slow." Despite his whispered words, the suction at her neck wasn't stopping between them, and it was making her insane. "We had such…a good day. But you touching me…_damn. _God help me if I don't want…to do extremely un-Catholic things to you right now."

She felt his struggle, recognized it as her own. It was one of the greatest temptations of her life. It would be _so _easy…they were two thin pieces of fabric from just giving in to the release they so desperately wanted. The bed creaked a little under their weight. The blankets cocooned them. She could easily entice him at this point to give it to her, hard, fast. She wanted…she wanted…

"Seeley." She brought both hands to his face, pulled him from her throat. His eyes met her in the dim light of the room, and in them she saw a nearly overwhelming amount of emotion. Not the least of which was lust. But also, not the most. They were both panting slightly. "Whatever this is…I don't want to ruin it." She couldn't even believe that these words were leaving her lips. Her body was screaming for him.

"Jesus, Temperance. Neither do I. I want…_so _much." One trembling hand lifted and brushed her damp hair from her cheek, and he drew in and exhaled a shaky breath. "I should have known…having you here…you are just so damn irresistible, you know?"

Brennan felt a little confused in that second, because it sounded like he was apologizing to her. Which didn't make sense, since she was the one who had been molesting him right before he woke up. "Booth…what do you want?" The answer might have seemed predictable. But she wanted to know.

He was silent for a long moment, his still-ragged breathing the only sound. "I want you to feel what you mean to me. I want whatever we do together to be a choice, and not an impulse. I want to make it so neither of us can even think about running away. And…" He paused. "I want to make you scream. Like you did on Halloween. Only I want to be looking into your eyes this time." He shrugged the shoulder that wasn't pressed against the pillow. "I'm sorry…I know that last one doesn't fit with the rest. But I want to be honest."

Her body throbbed at his words. "No. It fits." She saw him gulp when he recognized her meaning, and that made her smile. She laid her head closer to his, kissed him. This time, slowly. Sweetly. Pulling back, she regarded him seriously. "But…tonight…the screaming thing? Might be a problem."

He had to know she was right. But she could see his wheels turning. And she found herself hoping that he would find some way to create the effect he was talking about, without the noisy complications. For the second time that night, she had faith that a paradox would resolve itself.

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It had started out innocently enough; somehow in sleep they'd switched positions and where he had originally started out with her snuggled against him, she was now behind him, her arm wrapped around his waist. He awoke suddenly when her ice cold feet were trying to burrow between his calves for warmth and she hit the exposed skin of his ankle. He tried not to gasp, keeping his breathing slow and even. If she was only adjusting in her sleep, he wanted her to stay sleeping – it had been a long day for her and she needed rest. Also, if she was awake, he couldn't be held responsible for what he would do through the lusty haze in his mind.

But then the strangest thing had happened. She had started feeling him up. Not in the figurative sense of the words (dammit), but literally, feeling her way up his abs. He wanted so badly to suck in his imaginary gut but didn't want her to realize he was awake. God forbid she stop touching him. How wrong was that? She was trying to take advantage of him in his sleep and he was praying she'd never stop? When had he turned into a masochist?

Her hot little hands (how could they be so warm when her feet were so damn cold?) continued their ascent to his chest, playing there for awhile while he tried not to flip her on her back and ravage her. Because that would surely detract from the 'sleeping' image he was trying to uphold. When her fingernail traced a circle around his nipple he knew they were going to be in a world of hurt if something more didn't happen soon. Hell, he already was. But as soon as it had started, it was over. Apparently she had tired of her little game and he could talk himself down and get some sleep.

Or maybe not…

Just as he was about to drift off with one of those hot little hands on his hip, her sweet lips attached themselves to the back of his neck. Good God. She sure didn't learn how to kill an FBI agent from her father, but she was no less effective at it than he was. As she kissed and licked at the back of his neck, he contemplated this whole 'go slow' plan they'd come up with. Was it really _that_ important? Couldn't he maybe just this once… _no, Seeley. Go slow plan. Very important. Ignore that feeling. Even though it's… really… wow. She's really good at this, isn't she? Fuck it, man. Go for it. _

And then she stopped. _Too late now, Dr. Brennan. Best not be writing checks with your sweet little mouth that your hot little body can't cash. _

Seeley flipped around, nose to nose with his beautiful partner, palming her cheek in his hand. He wanted to kiss that surprised look right off her face. Like his reaction hadn't been exactly what she was shooting for. Right.

She began stammering out an apology, but her interrupted her. "Don't stop," he whispered. _Jesus Christ, Seel. Look what she does to you. Get a grip, buddy._ Fuck off, conscience. Your services are no longer required.

And then he kissed her. And discovered that just like any other time he kissed her, he never wanted to stop. She fisted the fingers of one hand in his hair, using the other hand to pull his hip against hers so tightly that a piece of paper couldn't have slid between them. When he pushed his erection against her, trying to gain just a little relief, he was instantly back in that anonymous bedroom on Halloween night, having an experience with a woman who was a complete stranger yet far from anonymous. It rattled him a little, but not enough that he couldn't concentrate on the here and now. She tugged at his hair and a feeling so powerful that it was almost painful flowed through his body. Dragging his mouth off of hers, he moved across the smooth line of her jaw down to the soft column of her throat, sucking on her collarbone like an inexperienced teenager. He just wanted… so much… God. She bucked her hips against him and he nearly came on the spot. Part of him felt like this was a dream, but one he certainly never wanted to wake from. And hell, even if he did, he was going to find a way to make it a reality.

She swore his name on a gasp and it broke his concentration, but only slightly. He made a mental note to make sure this was what she wanted. The way she was grinding against him, he was pretty sure she was game on, but it never hurt to ask. He reminded her (begrudgingly) of their plan to take things slow, and that it had been such a great day, with her family, and Parker, and Mass, and… just… _them_. His mind flicked back to Thanksgiving in New York. Just Seeley and his beautiful… Bones. He mumbled all of his thoughts against her throat, kissing and licking gently. He felt her warm hands cup his cheeks and bring his face up to look her in the eye.

She looked at him softly, telling him that she didn't want to screw anything up either, and he tried to read her mind. He felt like she was in every part of him, maybe he could just get in that brain for a second. Did she feel the same as him? That maybe this would ruin everything but it would be worth it for the chance that just _maybe_ it would make the world a better place? He shook the thought from his head, trying to focus more on her words and less on his sappy thoughts. Maybe this had all been a mistake. He had known how irresistible she was to him, for Christ's sake. He'd proven time and time again that he couldn't concurrently think _and_ be in the same room with her. The night he'd fucked her hard and fast in a dark bedroom, the weekend they'd wandered New York City and he'd allowed complete strangers to think she was his wife, and now… here… letting her sleep in his bed and allowing himself to think he could do it without touching her. Seeley Booth was a lot of things, and apparently, contrary to popular belief, stupid _was_ one of them.

He brushed the damp hair off her forehead and attempted to explain his stupidity in the face of her irresistibility, and got the distinct impression she wanted to laugh at him. She asked him what he wanted and he nearly asked her if she had a few hours to hear the answer. He explained as succinctly as he could, all that he wanted with her (leaving out the part about the big house and the white picket fence for fear that that would ruin the part about "not running") and mentally crossed his fingers that she wouldn't punch him out when he told her the last part. "I want to make you scream. Like you did on Halloween. Only I want to be looking into your eyes this time." He feigned nonchalance at his honest request, even though it had been part of his nightly fantasy for nearly two months. "I'm sorry…I know that last one doesn't fit with the rest. But I want to be honest."

Her eyes darkened at his honesty and he knew he'd gotten her where she lived. She wanted it too. Thank you, God. She assured him that his final request did indeed fit in with the rest of the things he wanted, but alerted him that perhaps screaming would not be a good option, what with the six-year-old asleep across the hall. He grinned lecherously and put his lips right next to her ear. "Well in that case, Bones? If you promise to be as quiet as a Christmas mouse tonight… when Parker's in Vermont tomorrow night, I'll have you peeling paint off the walls."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Um. So we got the impression that nobody wanted any Christmas smut. Did we read that right? Yes? Alright then...sorry to have offended you with the possibility. We'll keep everything G-rated from now on. If that's what you really want.**

**Or not:)**

**Love, Jamie & Kinsey (aka NekkidBoothInc)**

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"Is that so?" she asked, reaching between them to gently cup the heat of him in her hand. He gasped at her touch and she smiled. "Don't be so sure I'm going to be the only one peeling the paint off the walls," she whispered teasingly, dropping a sweet kiss on his lips.

He should have known that his Bones wouldn't be content to simply, passively enjoy the pleasure that he so desperately wanted to bestow on her. Her competitive spirit would never let that happen. Seeley flipped her fully to her back, not being able to resist grinding his erection against her. "Is that a challenge, Dr. Brennan?"

She looked up at him with a siren's smile. "It certainly is, Agent Booth. Give it your best shot."

"Tomorrow," he vowed. And he would do his damndest to live up to that particular promise. He had been _born _to live up to that promise. "Tonight, slow, soft, and…" he dropped his voice to a husky whisper. "Quiet."

She nodded and swallowed thickly, reaching down to his waist to push the plaid pants over his hips. Seeley was struck with a nearly youthful excitement about this current inevitability of being naked, at long last, with Temperance Brennan. He adjusted slightly to get the pants off his body, for the second time that night, before going to work on her (his) tee shirt, pulling it carefully over her head. "Looks like I found the treasure at the end of the rainbow," he couldn't resist saying.

"You're cheesy," she rolled her eyes.

"You love it."

She smiled again without answering and arched her back, pushing her needy breast into his wandering hand, a soft whimper escaping her lips as the palm of his hand made contact with her nipple. God, he wanted to turn the light on and get a good look at her. He had been dreaming about it since Halloween. Well, if he were honest, he had dreamt about it long before Halloween. But after finding out that his mystery woman was, in fact, the very person who had been appearing unbidden in his fantasies for years…well, that tended to stimulate the old imagination. He could tell by touch alone that her breasts were high and firm despite being just a little too large to fit in one of his hands. But he wanted to _see, _damn it. See if that skin was as flawless as he believed, protected always from the sun and the elements and (thank God) from the eyes of all the men that stared at her. See if he could make her nipples pinker the longer he sucked on them…another stroke made her gasp. He supposed that he could wait one more night to stare, as long she kept up _those _little noises.

"You're pretty terrible at this quiet thing, Bones," Booth teased.

"I'm sorry. I can't think when you touch me like that. I feel a little out of control."

"I like it when you're a _lot_ out of control," he whispered, sneaking a hand beneath the waistband of her panties, remembering the delightful reaction he got the last time he touched her that way. He wanted to do everything in his power to make this so good she'd never want to leave. Never freak out, or if she did, maybe think to herself that he was such a god in the sack that whatever concerns she had weren't important. _Pretty sure of your prowess, aren't ya, Seel?_ He ignored the annoying little voice for the time being, cupping his hand over Brennan's damp curls. She bucked her hips up into his hand and by sheer coincidence, the motion forced one of his thick fingers inside her. Dear Lord, if she were that tight around his finger…She slapped a hand over her mouth and groaned deeply as he smiled wickedly from above her. "I have a better way to keep you quiet," he offered. "Can I have this?" he asked, his grip loose around her wrist. She nodded slowly and he pulled her hand away, lacing their fingers together above her head, resting his weight on his right side. He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her gently, waiting for her to let him stroke his tongue through her mouth the way he was stroking his fingers through her folds. She sighed his name (something he'd never tire of hearing) and he took his opportunity. Plunging his tongue inside, he stroked along the roof and the insides of her cheeks, finally massaging against her tongue at the same time as he rolled a thumb around her swollen clit. He opened his eyes a crack just in time to see hers roll back and drift shut on a sigh and he smiled inwardly. So far so good.

He removed his hand from her heat and chuckled at the sound she made. "Did you just growl at me?" he asked.

She gave him a petulant look. "Maybe."

"You know, you're acting like the little boy across the hall when he doesn't get his way," Booth teased.

"Don't compare me to a six-year-old," Brennan huffed (quietly, of course).

"Then stop acting like one," Booth mumbled through a kiss.

"Then give me what I want," she grinned slyly, reaching for him and effectively placing the tip of him right at her entrance.

"Sneaky, Bones, very sneaky." He gasped and it was everything he could do to keep from immediately taking that invitation. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he breathed. "Let me get something…" Pawing at the nightstand drawer. Why the hell didn't he keep protection more easily available? Like, in his pillowcase. Oh yeah, because Temperance Brennan didn't fall into his bed just every night. Although maybe, if he played his cards right, he could convince her to from now on. Luckily, she made it worth his while, taking the small packet from him, opening it, and sliding the sheath on him slowly…nearly painfully slowly, squeezing him hotly along the way. But as soon as she was done, her hand snaked to his back and she pulled, making him fall on top of her. Wiggling, she got him back in the position he started in…at the metaphorical gate to Heaven. "Okay, fine," he muttered playfully, pushing inside her, just a little. "Have it your way," he whispered.

"Finally. I was starting to think you didn't like me," she sighed.

"Remind me how you got those doctorates again?" he dished back. "Because that was about the dumbest thing I've ever heard you s…." His words were lost in a soft groan as she thrusted up into him, taking him fully inside of her in one wet stroke. And right then, he thanked God for that condom, because it was the only thing that kept him from exploding on that first, tight thrust like an overeager teenager on his first date.

"So you _do_ like me?" she asked. "I have to say, it feels like you like me a whole lot."

He fought back the urge to describe to her (in great detail) just how much he liked her. Liked her hair, her eyes, her sassy mouth, her beautiful skin, her devastating body, her amazing personality, and holy _fuck_ did he like the way he fit inside her. He withdrew slightly, kissing her deeply then pushing forward again.

"So good," she sighed.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Bones." Just like she had been doing since the moment they met…

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She had tried to remember if there was ever an instance when Seeley Booth had broken a promise to her. And, while granted she didn't think about it for very long, she wasn't successful at recalling such a time. So when he guaranteed her that tomorrow, he'd have her screaming his name, she had no reason not to believe that he was being one hundred percent straight with her. And it made her insanely hot. But she just _had _to remind him of the similar effect she had on him as well. After all, she was Temperance Brennan. And, even when she was about as nervous about a first time as she had ever been in her life, she was _good _at this. Still, he marveled at his instantaneous reaction to her touch, and how he seemed to grow even larger against her fingertips. Ha. The paint-peeling was going to be a joint-effort tomorrow.

How desperately she wanted to give him pleasure right now. But she wasn't sure she remembered how once he flipped her over onto her back and laid on top of her. Wow. _Wow. _Okay. This was very, very good. She remembered the last time he had been pressed against her like this, shielding her from the bomb that didn't exist. She had played up her amusement then, teasing him until he had climbed off of her. It occurred to her that things might have ended up very differently on the floor of that vault if he would have ground up against her the way he was doing now. Because she would have to be made of stone not to respond to the demanding thrust of hips and the heat of his kiss. "Tonight…soft, slow…and _quiet," _he told her. And there wasn't a single pornographic fantasy that could compare to the thought of Booth pumping her excruciatingly slowly while she held back all the noises that would be threatening to burst from her lips. This was going to be a challenge.

She pushed those damn flannel pants over his hips (yes, he looked good in them. But try as she might, she couldn't help being more interested in what was underneath). God, she wanted to turn the light on and get a good look at him. Up close and personal. So she could fill in the blanks from Halloween night with her vivid imagination. But there would be time for that unhurried visual exploration. Right now…she was just going to concentrate on feeling everything.

Her body was almost painfully ripe and ready for his touch. Sparks of sensation, followed by a headier pleasure, erupted inside her as he caressed her breasts with a gentle touch. A whimper left her, unbidden.

"You're pretty terrible at this quiet thing, Bones,"

Well, if he didn't want her to make noises, he shouldn't be so damn good at turning her on. "I'm sorry," she lied. "I can't think when you touch me like that. I feel a little out of control." That was the understatement of the year. If he wasn't inside her in the next few minutes, she couldn't be responsible for her actions. She would strip him, tie him up, and lick him to death. All very quietly, of course.

"I like it when you're a _lot_ out of control." When had he seen her be _that? _Oh, yes. When she ripped his shirt off at a party and forced him to take her from behind until she screamed. Hmm. Details. But all rational thought was obliterated when his curious hand found its way into her panties. It was pure instinct that made her cover her mouth to keep down the moan that raised in her throat. And then he was silencing her much more pleasurably with his mouth and tongue, fingers relentless against the spots that gave her the most sensation. It was making her hot, so hot…she was straining against him, her thighs shaking, almost there…

And then he stopped. Oh, he was going to regret that. Her reaction might have been that of a spoiled 6-year-old, but the way that she chose to punish Booth would be distinctly adult tonight. "Give me what I want," she told him, putting him at the one place that she knew would be the hardest to resist. And the feeling of his bare cock at her wet opening very nearly melted her. It was impossible to torture him without torturing them both. Her apology was in allowing him to pull away to protect them without chastising him, helping him put on that barrier that neither of them wanted but knew they needed. But as soon as it was in place…she couldn't wait anymore. She pulled at him. And despite his teasing, she felt his hard body trembling against her when he touched her, felt the deep, hot throbbing of him when he began to enter her. Yes. Yes, she was fairly certain that he might like her. Especially when his teasing words were cut off by her first, impatient upwards thrust.

He was inside of her. Again. _Finally. _And everything connected. She realized now why she had pushed away her awareness of who that sexy cowboy was on Halloween. And why she had turned her back on her lover that night, refusing to even watch the dark form of him over her while they had sex. This…being face-to-face, body-to-body, heart-to-heart, with a part of him _literally inside her…_there was no way she was ready for that on Halloween night. She wasn't entirely sure she was ready for it now. But there was no turning back. He moved experimentally. Pushed. Pulled. "So good." It was all there was to say. And thank God, he agreed with her.

Dr. Temperance Brennan typically preferred forceful lovemaking. It always seemed more natural, somehow…to give up the pretenses of sweetness and tenderness and give in to her baser biological urges. But right now…soft, slow, and quiet, he had prescribed. And nothing had ever felt so natural in her life. She wrapped her legs around him, crossed her ankles around his back. His mouth had descended on hers and they were each swallowing the little gasps and breathy moans that neither could help. Each slow thrust made her arch off the bed, forcing him deeper, making his cock massage the inside of her in all the right ways. His mouth pulled away from hers for an instant, and she pulled his head right back, not trusting herself stay silent against this onslaught of pleasure, and maybe feeling a little afraid of the words that might leave her mouth, should she give them the opportunity.

But Booth refused to not talk to her. His lips tore away from hers as he continued pumping her, agonizingly, into oblivion. "Temperance," he whispered raggedly. "I wish I…oh _God…_could do this with you all night…_ah…_never stop…have waited too damn long…"

"Booth," she sighed, breathily, head falling back. "Don't you dare apologize. I know…feels too good. So close…"

That seemed to spur something in him, and his thrusts came just a little faster, a little deeper. Immediately, she buried her face into his neck to silence her little cries. Every stroke was stoking an unbearable tension in her. As was the way he was beginning to chant her name in her ear, quietly, but with such emotion that there was no doubt to just how good he was feeling right now. Her name had never sounded so erotic. "Temperance…oh God…"

"Booth…please…_now…" _Right on time with the first wave of her climax, he thrust into her hard, tongue plundering her mouth at the same time. It set off a chain reaction inside of her. The only sound that came out of her was a shuddering sigh, but her body was screaming, begging for him. Then he was shaking too, and she wasn't sure where her orgasm ended and his started. Yes. _Yes. _Best camping trip ever.

They rocked together, long after the strongest waves of their climaxes were over, like they were afraid if they stopped, they might never get to start again. Eventually, all that was left was the sheer exhaustion of the day, and the glow of a lust that had been too long denied. Their naked bodies clung together. They were spent.

He collapsed half beside her and half onto her, being mindful not to crush her. He kissed her deeply one more time, cupping her face and placing gentle kisses on it, as well, before relaxing back into the pillows. He spoke. "You are amazing."

She almost laughed, remembering that those were the words that sent her panicking into the night on Halloween. But not before giving him the same reply that she did right now. "So are you."

His contented smile warmed her further. "Bones?"

"Yes?"

"You aren't going to steal my hat and run away again, are you?"

She sighed, snuggling up to his side, very pleased with her efforts at staying quiet on this night. "I won't run away. But your hat might never be safe."

He grinned, squeezing her tightly. "I guess I can part with the hat. As long as I get to keep you."

Blinking sleepily, she yawned. "I'm not a kept woman, Booth. So don't get any ideas."

"Never." He kissed the top of her head. "Merry Christmas, Bones."

Before drifting off to sleep, she replied softly. "Yes. Yes, it is."


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Okay, y'all. Here's your warning: PARKER FLUFF AND B/B FLUFF of the teeth-rotting variety. Please go brush them now so they are ready for the onslaught of cotton candy. If you refuse to heed our warning and get a cavity, Nekkid Booth Inc. and all its subsidiaries will not be held accountable. Thanks (love!), The Management. (Kinsey and Jamie)**_

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For five of the last six years that Seeley Booth had been waking up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning to tear open presents with his little boy, he'd woken up alone. But this year… this year was going to be a great Christmas, he could feel it. He stirred slowly awake, the soft snores of the beautiful doctor in his arms dragging him away from the visions of sugar-plums dancing in his head. He let her doze a moment longer, enjoying the feel of her finally being in his arms the way she was supposed to be, instead of in a stolen moment in a dark room. He rubbed light circles against the freckled (Sixty-four. He'd counted.) skin of her shoulders and she nestled a little deeper into the crook of his neck. It reminded him of the way she'd burrowed beneath his coat on that cold Thanksgiving morning in the city. God. If there was anything better than this, he was scared to find out what it was, because it just might kill him. She made a soft '_snork_' sound, and he bit back a chuckle. Booth looked across the room to the alarm on the dresser: 5:50 AM. Parker would be up in ten minutes – he could set his watch by the kid – which meant he'd better wake Bones up and get her wrestled back into his tee shirt (for a few hours anyway) just in case Park came bounding into the bedroom while Seeley was in the kitchen making coffee and surprised the hell out of her.

He kissed her temple lightly, whispering her name. "Bones. Wake up. Booooones... good morning, Sunshine," he whispered, trailing kisses down her jaw to the soft skin of her throat. "Don't make me wake you up screaming," he mock-threatened.

"Would that be a paint-peeling scream, or an ice water scream?" she asked huskily.

"You're awake," he announced, moving to her mouth to drop a kiss there.

"Mmmm," she agreed.

"You snore," they said at the same time.

"It's okay. They're cute little girl snores," Booth teased.

"Not yours," Bones replied. "They're like these I-think-there's-a-train-going-through-the-room-grown-man snores."

He pretended to be offended momentarily until a thought occurred to him. "You didn't even give me shit for saying you snored like a little girl," he raised an eyebrow at her, knowing a sassy comment would be rolling from her tongue in short order.

"Meh. I let that one slide. You made me orgasm three times last night. Consider it a freebie. But don't let it happen again."

"So for every three orgasms, I'm allowed one semi-sexist comment?"

Bones snorted. "Hardly. 'A' for effort though," she offered, kissing him sweetly.

"Well I'm going to go make you some coffee and see if that butters you up any more." He rose from the bed and pulled on the infamous plaid pants, scrubbing a hand over the light shadow on his jaw. Glancing back over his shoulder he saw his partner, lying naked in his bed, a glassy look in her eyes. He could nearly reach out and wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth and he smiled. "Bones. Don't look at me like that or you really _are_ going to end up scarring my son for life."

"Oh my gosh, Parker!" she sat up hurriedly, groping around in the messy bedclothes for Booth's Pink Floyd tee shirt.

"Relax, Bones. You've got at least another two minutes," he grinned and ducked out the door, leaving her to dress.

As he passed the stereo in the living room, Booth kicked it on, the rocking sound of Manheim Steamroller filling the room. It was a special tradition he'd started with Parker when he was a baby. Most people who knew Seeley Booth probably wouldn't peg him for an instrumental music kind of guy, but it wasn't Christmas morning without Manheim in the background while Parker squealed over every gift he opened.

Moving into the kitchen, Booth started the coffee, tapping a spoon on the counter in time to the synthesized tune. Before long, he felt two arms wrap around his waist and felt a soft kiss melt against his shoulder blade. He put his hand on top of Brennan's and flipped the coffee pot on before turning to face her.

"Morning, sexy," she whispered, sifting her fingers into his hair and bringing his face down to hers for a kiss. Wow. Probably if he was greeted like that ever morning he would be a lot happier. And he was a pretty happy guy already.

"Cute pants," he mumbled against her lips, tugging gently on the waistband of the Santa-hat pajama pants she'd lifted from his dresser drawer.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked. "Still trying to avoid that 'scarring Parker for life' thing. Figured pants would help."

"Of course I don't mind. As long as you stayed out of the sock drawer – that's where I hid your present," he murmured cryptically.

"Booooth," she whined. "You gave me my gift last night."

"Three times," he whispered.

"I meant the tree, Booth."

"See what I mean? My mind. Straight into the gutter."

"Well you stand there and think your gutter-thoughts. I'm going to find my present," she teased, twisting out of his arms and running for the bedroom.

Had he mentioned how much he loved when she was like this? Not "Dr. Temperance Brennan, world-renowned anthropologist," or "Dr. Temperance Brennan, world-renowned fiction author," or even "Dr. Temperance Brennan, Partner-in-crime-solving to FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth," but just… his Bones. When she appeared so happy and care-free (even though he knew the recesses of her mind were going a mile a minute), he fell a little bit in love with her. Every damn time.

Catching her wrist just as she was about to dart into the bedroom and close the door in his face, he yanked the door shut and trapped her between him and it. She smiled serenely, probably knowing she was about to get the daylights kissed out of her. He loved how she could read his mind. He winked at her to let her know he'd figured out her secret mind-reading abilities long ago and slanted his mouth over hers.

"You guys kiss more than Mom and Captain Fantastic." Booth let his forehead thump against the wall next to Brennan's face at Parker's statement. He loved his son. Really. Nothing he loved more than Parker. But right now, kissing Bones was running a really, _really_ close second. He silently thanked God that he and Bones hadn't been much more into their little up-against-the-wall episode or else he wouldn't have been able to turn around and face his son, and that would have been more explaining than he wanted to do at the moment.

"Bub, what did we say about calling Brent 'Captain Fantastic?'"

"Not to," Parker admitted guiltily. "I forgot, Dad."

"Try to remember next time, okay, pal?"

"Okay. Can we open presents now?" Even after six years of being a father, Booth was constantly amazed at Parker's ability to switch gears.

"Sure, Park," Booth agreed, running his hand through the little boy's blonde curls. As he started for the living room, he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Parker grabbing Brennan's hand to drag her into the living room.

"C'moooooooooon, Bones. Dad, can I give Bones her present?" Parker asked excitedly as he trailed behind his father into the living room, dragging the good doctor behind him.

"Yes, Parker, you may," Booth replied, knowing that Parker had no idea of the small box stashed away in the top drawer of his dresser and was referring to the picture he'd colored for her and had asked Booth to frame for her office.

"You got me a present, Parker?" Brennan asked sweetly.

"Mhm, I wrapped it myself too," Parker said proudly, while Booth grinned at the memory of the little boy up to his elbows in shiny red paper and Scotch tape. Parker dropped Brennan's hand and dashed to the tree, crawling underneath to get her present.

Booth motioned for her to take a seat on the couch while Parker placed the garishly-wrapped present in her hands. "I'll go grab you a cup of coffee," he smiled, kissing the top of her head gently. She nodded her thanks and turned her attention back to Parker.

Booth went in the kitchen and filled two mugs with hot coffee, adding a splash of cream to Brennan's. He stopped in the doorway to the living room to take in the scene before him.

"Parker, this is _beautiful_! Hey, you want to make piles? All your presents in one pile and all your dad's presents in another?"

"Okay," Parker agreed, scampering back to the tree to begin the task Bones had assigned him. Booth slipped quietly back into the room, handing her the coffee and sitting next to her on the couch. Bones sat stiffly for a moment, and it occurred to him that the 'Parker factor' might still be worrying her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her back against him as he reclined on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table.

"Relax," he whispered, placing yet another tender kiss in her hair. "He's harmless. Just a kid. We even got him broke of that biting habit he had for awhile."

Brennan snorted a giggle. "That's better," Booth smiled.

"Daddy, _look_!!" Parker screeched excitedly, holding up a new game for his Leap Pad and a collector's edition Clue board game.

"Cool, buddy. Don't forget to keep the tag with it so you can write a thank you note," Booth reminded him.

"I knooooooooow, Daaaaad," Parker groaned. "It was from Grama and Papa."

"And in five minutes you'll have forgotten," Booth chided him gently.

"Okay," Parker agreed, only slightly rolling his eyes.

"Wow. He really _is_ your son," Bones muttered under her breath.

"You're funny. Payin' for that later," Booth teased quietly in her ear.

"Okay, Bones, now you open one," Parker requested.

Brennan sat up a little straighter and peeled the hastily-taped paper carefully apart. Gah. She _would _be one of _those._ Booth blushed at her admonishing look. Apparently that had come out a little more aloud than he had intended.

"Just because I don't have a rip-and-tear instant gratification problem," she muttered, shooting him a look. He could read the true meaning in her eyes and she _definitely_ wasn't talking about Christmas paper. He smiled and squeezed her gently.

Divesting the gift of its final wrappings, Brennan smiled at the framed picture Parker had drawn. "Do you like it?!" the little boy asked, bouncing slightly on his knees.

Booth couldn't help but smile as she turned her radiant grin on his son. "I love it, Park."

--

Brennan didn't usually mind sleeping alone, or waking up alone…actually, she had pretty much been certain that the only rational way to get rest was to do it without dealing with another human being's snores, tosses and turns, and blanket-stealing. But as she awoke slowly to her skin being warmed by Seeley Booth's lips, she found herself open to being convinced otherwise. "Don't make me wake you up screaming," he said. Ooh. _Very _scary. As if she should be happy that he woke her up after letting her get a whole hour and a half of sleep. Very generous of you, Agent Booth.

"Would that be a paint-peeling scream, or an ice water scream?" Because if it were the former, her eyes were remaining firmly pasted shut, thank you very much.

"You're awake."

Well, barely. She wasn't _happy _about it. "You snore," she told him petulantly, but was rewarded with the same accusation. If he thought that _that _would embarrass her, he was wrong. If she were snoring, it meant that she had fallen asleep very deeply and very satisfied. And she was willing to bet that _this _was probably the case. Her mouth teased him on autopilot while her eyes and brain greedily took in the brief glimpse of his naked backside that she got while he slid out of bed to put his pants on. Oh yes, _now _she remembered why she had slept with him. It was the ass. Must have been. She nearly burst out laughing at her own private joke.

"Bones. Don't look at me like that or you really _are_ going to end up scarring my son for life."

Parker! Oh my God. Sometime during the night, the memory that they weren't all alone in this house had been effectively pumped out of her (another internal joke that she would have laughed at, if she hadn't felt an immediate sense of panic). Suddenly, the image of her partner's lovely derriere was replaced by the much less attractive image of his son standing curiously in the doorway of the bedroom, asking why Bones wasn't wearing any clothes when it was so _cold _out. Finding that tee-shirt that she had previously abandoned suddenly became the most important task of the day.

"Relax, Bones. You've got at least another two minutes." Well _that _did certainly not relax her, she thought as he slipped out of the room to make coffee. Which she didn't need right at this moment, considering that she was very much awake.

After all of her controversial parts were covered, she felt a little calmer, and this allowed her the opportunity to let the memories from last night slip in. All of a sudden, the "go-slow" plan had an entirely different context. She looked at Booth's bed, the scene of that particular crime, and she felt warm all over. Wow. They had…and it had been…and he made her feel…yes. Wow. She had always thought that after they had sex for the first time (not that she had thought about that often…aw hell, who was she kidding?), that she would feel awkward and out of place. And she had never, _ever _considered the possibility that Parker would be around, participating in that morning after. But she was feeling…strangely…_okay. _Okay enough to rifle through Booth's underwear drawer to find something that would leave her a little less exposed while opening presents. Finding a pair of soft cotton sleep pants decorated merrily with tiny Santa caps, she decided that this would serve the purpose. She grinned as she put them on. They were just so very…_Booth._ Hearing lively Christmas music flowing through the door from outside, she decided to go out and explore.

In the kitchen, she found her partner. Looking very different than she was used to seeing him at work--hair mussed, bouncing to the music, in the midst of the deceptively normal act of making coffee. Oh, and the half-naked part…that was different than work, too. Unfortunately. She couldn't stand not touching him. That was illogical. But the urge was overwhelming. Walking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around him tentatively, then more firmly when she felt an encouraging hand placed on top of hers. Kissing the smooth skin of his back, she marveled in his strength. "Good morning, sexy." She had previously accused him of being cheesy, and it was apparently catching. But the grin that he gave her when he turned—and the returned kiss pressed softly, and then more deeply against her lips- immediately wiped out any doubt from her mind.

He told her he had a gift for her…which struck her as particularly unfair; how was she supposed to keep up when he just kept giving?...and feeling mischievous, she ran to find it, knowing full well that he would stop her in some sort of wonderful way. When he caught her, she was almost dazed by the adoration in his eyes. Why did he have to look at her like that?, she wondered while he kissed her again, pressing her against the closed bedroom door and making a lazy desire resurface in her belly. That look gave her very…_unBrennan-like _thoughts.

"You guys kiss more than Mom and Captain Fantastic." Oh, Parker. He was a great kid. Really was. But he _really _needed to work on his timing. Booth redirected him, which was probably unnecessary because the child obviously had his mind on one thing—the presents under the tree. Again, Brennan was struck with a little discomfort at the unfamiliar feeling of a child grasping her hand and dragging her toward the tree, chattering about his presents. It stimulated a memory from somewhere deep within her…she and her brother, much long ago, dancing around their parents and begging for them to _hurry up _with their picture-taking and let them at the brightly-wrapped gifts, already. "C'moooooooooon, Bones. Dad, can I give Bones her present?"

She was genuinely surprised and touched by this. "You got me a present, Parker?"

"Mhm, I wrapped it myself too."

Booth whispered that he was going to go get coffee for them, and she was nervous for a moment about the prospect about being left alone with this little person who knew nothing about anthropology, but was again distracted with wonder when the child thrust a garishly-wrapped present into her hands. Wrapped just for _her. _"Parker, this is _beautiful_!" It really was, to her. Enough to nearly bring tears to her eyes. She remembered the first order of business before she and her brother tore into their presents as kids. "Hey, you want to make piles? All your presents in one pile and all your dad's presents in another?"

"Sure," the little boy agreed amiably. Booth joined her again, handing her a steaming mug of coffee. He put his arm around her, and she was momentarily alarmed. It was one thing when his son _caught _them being intimate in this way. It was another thing to do it on purpose.

Noticing her discomfort, he soothed her, joking that Parker wouldn't hurt her and making her laugh out loud. And then, it was all good again as Parker attacked the presents and she was amused again. It took him all of 10 seconds to open the first gift, and afterwards, he insisted that she do hers. She began to open the present in front of her, very carefully, not wanting to disturb the meticulous wrapping work that was obviously put into it. Hearing Booth mutter under his breath, she immediately knew he was griping about her methodical unwrapping. Not surprising, remembering just how eagerly and quickly he had gotten her out of her tee-shirt just a few hours ago, once they decided that mere 'camping' wasn't going to be enough for them. She made a veiled reference to this, that she knew her gutter-minded partner would understand.

Smoothing the paper and laying it aside, she took in the framed picture in front of her. It looked like a small, long-haired figure kneeling on the ground, behind which there were trees…lots of green…and…animals? Was that a monkey? And…a cat of some sort?

"Do you like it?!" an anxious voice asked. She stared at the picture for a second. He had obviously worked very, _very _hard on this. It was the second-best present she had ever received.

Looking down at the child, she graced him with a genuine smile. "I love it, Park." He grinned back and clapped a little. "Can you tell me about it?"

"It's you digging for bones in Africa! I thought that since you didn't get to go, this would help you know what it's like. That's a tiger, and that's a chimp, and that's a bear…"

There were very few species of bears on the continent of Africa. If she had been planning on going to Africa. But it all seemed so terribly unimportant. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome!" He launched himself into her arms. By the time she recovered from her surprised and began to hug back, he had already squirmed free. "My turn again!" he shouted, running back to the tree. "Then you, Daddy."

Apparently, the best camping trip ever hadn't ended when she got out of bed this morning.

--

**You know what helps a fluff-induced toothache? Long reviews. So hit the button and alleviate your pain. We swear it works. Don't believe us? You don't know until you try!! XOXO! **


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Did you guys totally die without us posting daily?:)**_

There were myriad reasons why Seeley Booth and Rebecca Stinson hadn't worked out as a couple. Probably beginning and ending with Seeley Booth himself, if one asked Rebecca Stinson. But Seeley couldn't fault her (even when she was making him nuts): she'd given him the greatest gift he'd ever received in the form of a wiggly, red-faced, eight-pound, six-ounce squaller they'd named Parker James. It amazed him every day how much _less_ his little boy resembled that wiggly squaller and how much _more_ he was turning into quite the thoughtful kid. He could read in Brennan's eyes how much Parker's drawing had touched her heart. Damn. If Parker's art made her smile like that forever, she could have at least half of the ones plastered around his office. He squeezed her shoulder gently and took the frame from her, propping it up on the coffee table.

"My turn again!" Parker announced.

"Why don't you ask your dad if he'll go out to my car and get your gift from me, Parker, and you can open that last?" Brennan requested.

"You got me a present, Bones?!" Parker asked incredulously.

"Of course – you and your dad got me that great tree, did you think I'd forget about you?" Brennan teased.

"Daddy will you puh-leeez go get my present from Bones?" Parker pleaded.

"Sure, Bud. Just let me grab a shirt and some shoes," Booth requested, pushing himself up from the couch. "You didn't have to do that," he murmured in Brennan's ear.

"Wanted to. It's in the trunk. Red striped paper. Thanks." Booth jumped a little as she reached out and tapped him lightly on the ass.

"Jeez, Bones! What was that for?"

"Wanted to," she teased with a wink.

He shook his head at her new-found sassiness (well – new-found in the ass-slapping sense) and smiled. He pondered what she could have gotten Parker – she didn't know a whole lot about kids in general, and her nieces were both, well, _nieces_. Little girls and little boys were very different creatures. Would it be something basic like legos or a game? Or would it be something_ squinty_ like a microscope or an ant farm? Could you even _get_ an ant farm anymore? He tried to block the images from his mind, lest he worry himself into a panic. Reaching his bedroom, he glanced longingly at the rumpled bedclothes and wondered how long he'd have to wait to land Bones back amongst them. He pulled open the top dresser drawer with a smile and pulled out the AC/DC tee shirt she'd decided against the night before. He shrugged it on and grabbed a pair of socks from the next drawer, his eyes falling on the carefully wrapped package he'd picked up in New York City. He hoped like hell she liked it and that it would serve as a constant reminder of how much she'd shaken up his life. Maybe he'd tell her that when she opened it. That she'd shaken up his life. That sounded good.

With a decisive nod to himself, he pulled the socks on and grabbed a pair of running shoes from the closet so he could go retrieve whatever squinty gift she'd gotten his son. Whatever it was, he knew Parker would love it – it was from Bones after all, and to listen to the kid, one would think that Dr. Temperance Brennan hung the moon and every single star in the sky – and he'd barely spent any time around her. No wonder Seeley was so damn crazy about her – he was with her every day.

Brennan's melodic laughter floated down the hall from the living room and he smiled at how well she got along with his kid. She was a keeper, that one. "Whatcha got there, pal?" he asked his son, re-entering the living room.

"Parker was just explaining to me what terrible gifts sweaters are," Brennan smiled.

"Great-Aunt Anne strikes again, huh Park?" Booth asked.

The little boy nodded solemnly. "But we still send her a thank you card every year, even though she gets me ugly sweaters and Daddy boring ties."

Brennan laughed again, her sweet smile lighting up the entire room. Booth chuckled as well, running his hand over Parker's curls as he walked by. He snatched her keys out of the air as she tossed them to him. "Red striped paper?" he clarified and she nodded. "Be right back." He pulled the door shut behind him, thinking for just a split second how natural it felt to leave Bones and Parker alone in the living room amidst a pile of crumpled wrapping paper and bows, not noticing the blonde coming toward him down the hall until he nearly ran her down.

"Hi, Seeley," she said.

A little surprised to see her so early, he swallowed before he replied. "Hey, Rebecca."

"Where are you going?" she questioned.

"Oh, uh," he stammered, as if only recently realizing he had been headed somewhere. "Out to the car to grab one of Parker's presents. Want to come with me?"

"Sure," Rebecca agreed amiably. When they got out to the parking lot and he hit the button to unlock Brennan's little silver sports car, Rebecca glanced up at him questioningly. "Whose car?" she asked.

"Dr. Brennan's," Seeley replied self-consciously. This was not at all how he'd wanted this to go down. It wasn't that he didn't plan for his ex to find out (they'd always had an agreement that they needed to meet the people each involved in their son's life), but this sure wasn't his ideal situation.

"Oh._ Oh._ Is she, um, here?" Rebecca asked.

"She's inside with Park. In the _living room_, Rebecca. This hasn't become a den of Christmas iniquity," he muttered.

"I didn't… Seeley, please, look at me," she requested. Booth pulled the cheerily-wrapped box from the trunk of the car, shut the lid and hit the lock button before he glanced at her. What the hell? Rebecca was grinning. She was always pretty easy to get a smile out of, but this hadn't been the reaction he'd been expecting from her.

"Seeley, if you want to… _see_ Dr. Brennan, romantically or otherwise, I'm not going to play the shrew-bitch card. I like her. She's a little… _unconventional_, but Parker loves her. He constantly rattles on about 'Bones this' and 'Bones that' and 'Daddy says that Bones says,'" she trailed off, smiling at the thought of her little boy. "And I may be blonde, but I wasn't born yesterday. I'd venture a guess that you're pretty crazy about her too."

Seeley smiled and wrapped an arm around his ex-girlfriend. "Seriously? Not the reaction I expected, Beck."

She pushed him lightly, rolling her eyes. "What, think I'd punch her out and tell you if you weren't mine you weren't gonna be anybody's?" she scoffed.

"Nah, nothing like that," Booth blushed.

"Seeley Booth!" Rebecca laughed heartily, her blonde ponytail bobbing as they walked back to the apartment. "You are an _extremely_ self-assured man. So, how long has this been going on?" she asked.

"Well, it's not exactly…I mean, it's not…" He had no idea how to even begin explaining the nature of his relationship with Bones right now. He decided not to try. "Sort of since Halloween, actually, but it's complicated. Last night was the first time she ever stayed over," Booth assured her. Rebecca nodded, even though he knew there was no way she could possibly understand.

"Well, just tell her to keep one thing in mind," Rebecca stopped outside the apartment door, her hand on his arm. Booth steeled himself for the lecture he was still expecting. "She breaks our son's heart," she paused, "or _yours_," she continued, squeezing his arm gently. "Her ass is mine."

Booth laughed and squeezed her to him again. "You can take the girl outta Jersey…" he teased.

Rebecca laughed again. "And don't you forget it, buddy."

Booth stepped back into the apartment, Rebecca a few feet behind him. "Hey, Bub, your mom's here," he said, praying Bones would be okay. He couldn't remember if he'd told her Rebecca would be by this morning to pick Parker up.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Parker screeched, running into the hall.

"Hey, Bub," Rebecca greeted him, scooping him into a hug. "Did you have fun with Dad and Dr. Brennan?" she asked, letting him rest on her hip as she walked into the living room.

"Yeah! Mom you should see all the cool stuff I got! And I still have one more from Bones to open!"

"Cool, buddy. Well why don't you open it?" Rebecca smiled at Brennan as she set Parker back down on the floor. "Hi, Dr. Brennan," she greeted, extending a hand.

Booth mentally kicked himself as a look of panic washed over Brennan's face. A look that also distinctly told him that no, as a matter of fact, he _hadn't_ told her Rebecca would be there this morning. Shit.

To her credit, Bones recovered quickly. She smiled at Rebecca and shook her hand. "Hi, Rebecca," she replied. "Merry Christmas," she blurted. _There_ was his girl. Still a little nervous on the social niceties.

"Oh, thanks, you too," Rebecca replied with a smile, settling on the floor with Parker.

Booth settled back down on the couch next to Bones and pulled her against him. He noticed her stiff posture again, and settled for just sitting next to her on the couch. He took her hand and laced their fingers together, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. She stared straight ahead, smiling at Parker as he ripped into her gift. Booth put his mouth right next to her ear. "I'm sorry, Bones. She was coming down the hall when I went out there. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you she was coming to get him," he whispered.

"It's fine," she muttered back, her stiff smile still in place. "I should have known. How else was he going to get to Vermont? The bus?" she asked tightly, but he could feel her hand relax just a little in his.

"Relax," he begged. "I promise I'll make it up to you," he whispered.

She scoffed lightly and turned to him. "You're damn right you will." Her smile softened a little and her eyes sparkled at him.

He leaned closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sorry."

She nodded (with only a short nervous glance at Rebecca) and her smile softened the rest of the way. "It's okay. People have to deal with things like this all the time, right?"

Booth knew that whether or not it was true, she was in the most foreign of territories right now. "Right," he replied with a nod.

Parker's excited cries from his place in front of the tree alerted them to the fact that he'd gotten the paper off Brennan's gift.

"You like it?" she asked the little boy.

"I LOVE IT, BONES!" he clapped excitedly, holding the box up.

"_Totally Gross, The Game of Science_," Booth read off the front of the box.

"I don't know how you do it, Dr. Brennan," Rebecca complimented. "He has _begged_ for that like the last six times we've gone to the mall. I couldn't find a single one," she shook her head with a smile.

Brennan seemed to brighten a little more at Rebecca's kind words and shrugged nonchalantly. "Seemed like something he would like."

"Is that the last one, Parker?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah," Parker replied sadly.

"Well don't be so bummed, pal, I'm sure your mom and Brent have a dozen more in the car," Booth teased.

"Yeah," Parker sounded slightly distracted. "Bones, how many is a dozen?" he asked sweetly. The three adults chuckled and Brennan answered Parker's question. Suddenly interested in his twelve more gifts, Parker bounced up from the floor. "I have an idea!" he announced. "Daddy, you and Bones should come with us to Vermont since you're not going to Africa anymore!"

Rebecca shot Booth a glance that simply said _Africa?_ and Booth shook his head, telling her she didn't want to know.

"Nah, bud, you go and have fun with your mom and Brent. Bones and I'll just stay here and hold down the fort until you get back. We'll play with all your new toys and make sure they work okay," he teased, getting up from the couch and tossing his son over his shoulder. "How'd that be?" he asked, tickling the little boy's sides. Parker giggled and pounded his little fists against Booth's back.

"Stop, Daddy!" he giggled.

"Okay." Booth let him back down again. "Don't forget to thank Bones for the box of… grossness," he grinned.

Parker flew into her arms, and this time Booth could tell she was ready for it the way she allowed the little boy to leap against her and scooped him up into a hug. "Thanks, Bones!"

"You're very welcome, Parker," she replied. "We'll play it when you get back, okay?"

"Okay," Parker agreed cheerfully. "I'll leave it here so we don't forget," he suggested.

"Sounds good," Seeley agreed. "Got all your stuff gathered up, bud?"

"In my room," Parker answered, distractedly while he picked up his wrapping paper mess.

"Okay, well I'll go grab it. When you've got your mess cleaned up you can help your mom haul stuff out to the car, right?" Booth asked.

"Yep," Parker answered, stuffing the wrapping paper into the kitchen garbage Booth had brought in.

"Okay," Booth replied with a smile, squeezing Brennan's hand once more before going back down the hall to gather up Parker's duffle bag and the stuffed puppy he'd slept with since the days when it had been bigger than him. He carried it all back towards the living room, but paused briefly before entering when he heard Rebecca and Bones conversing.

"For the record, if Seeley's going to have a girlfriend, and that girlfriend is going to be around my son…well, I'm glad it's you." Ah, Becky, he thought, affectionately. Thanks for that. Thanks _so frickin' much. _Seriously.

Then, Bones' reply: "What? Girl-…Oh, no. It's not like _that."_ Hmm, interesting. What exactly _was _it like, Bones?

Rebecca, apparently having the same thought: "Really?"

He wanted to hear that reply. He really did. But then he heard his son pipe up and eagerly drag his mother out of the room and into the car. Apparently in a big old hurry to get to that extra dozen presents.

Bones was sitting on the couch, alone in the room, looking just a _little _distressed. Yes, that was one conversation he was going to pretend he hadn't heard. "I'm sorry, Bones," he apologized again.

"It's okay," she smiled, and it looked genuine. "Let's just…not worry about it, okay? No big deal." He agreed with her again, dropping a tender kiss on her lips.

"Have I told you lately that I think you're pretty amazing?" he asked.

"Tell me again."

"Hey Bones?"

"Yes?"

"You're pretty amazing."

She smiled and kissed him again. "Thanks. So are you."

"Be right back," he gestured with Parker's bag and the puppy.

"Okay. Give Parker another hug for me," she smiled almost bashfully.

"I will," Booth grinned, kissing her again before he walked out the door.

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This was going well, she decided. Despite her initial insecurities about making Christmas morning uncomfortable for Booth and Parker with her presence, both seemed to be extremely relaxed and enjoying themselves. And, she noted with surprise, _she_ was enjoying herself as well. Watching Parker tear into his pile of gifts, she found herself wondering when was the last time _she _had attacked a task with such obviously exuberant enthusiasm. She couldn't remember, but she had a distinct impression that the opportunity for such a task would present itself shortly after Parker left for Vermont.

Remembering that she had purchased a last-minute contribution to the large stack for Parker under the tree, she asked Booth to go get it, not even recognizing that this time she was _choosing _to be left alone with this kid. Truth be told, she didn't want to miss a second of Parker's childlike wonder while opening his presents; it stirred up memories of herself and her brother, long-since buried after the disappearance of her parents. They were good memories. She had missed them.

"You got me a present, Bones?!" Parker said, with the same surprise that she had expressed when she found out about her own present from him.

"Of course – you and your dad got me that great tree, did you think I'd forget about you?"

"Daddy will you puh-leeez go get my present from Bones?" She hoped that the present would even remotely live up to this hype.

"You didn't have to do that," her partner whispered into her ear, before he prepared to get outdoors-ready.

Well she _knew _she didn't _have _to. He and Parker hadn't _had_ to bring a tree to a prison in the freezing cold, either. "Wanted to. It's in the trunk. Red striped paper. Thanks." She requested without taking her eyes of the child opening presents. Seeing how engrossed he was in his ripping and tearing, she took the opportunity to swat her partner on the delectable backside she had been admiring earlier. He responded with shock, which pleased her a little bit. If there was one thing that Seeley Booth needed to learn about Temperance Brennan ASAP, it was that she wasn't anything close to uptight.

And then he had gone to dress, and she was left with a 6-year-old chattering a mile-a-minute about why Daddy and Santa were the two best gift-givers _ever,_because they never ever ever got him clothes (he already _had _clothes…duuuuuuh, he told her exasperatedly), and his aunt without fail always got him_ oogly_ sweater just like this one, that he never wore. She sighed in mental relief that she had overcome her first inclination to get the little boy something so practical, and to try to remember what kind of gift her brother would have liked when he was a kid. By the time Booth came back in the room, the kid nearly had her rolling in laughter. She barely noticed when her partner slipped out the door to go retrieve Parker's present.

She watched the child open up a few more presents, occasionally snapping pictures with the digital camera Booth had left on the coffee table, so he wouldn't feel he had missed a single squeal from his son. The minutes ticked by, and she briefly worried that Booth hadn't been able to find the gift. She had told him it was the red-striped paper, hadn't she? She was pretty sure she had.

By the time she heard the apartment door click open, Parker had, amazingly, turned the entire pile of wrapped gifts into a mess of games and toys. Wonderful. Now she and Booth could exchange their gifts and it would be the perfect end to the perfect morning…

"Hey, Bub, your mom's here," she heard Booth call from the foyer, followed immediately by an ear-piercing shriek of excitement from the little boy.

Oh. Shit. _Rebecca._ Of course Rebecca was here. Parker wasn't going to drive _himself _to Vermont. All her comfort drained away as she frantically ran her fingers through her uncombed hair and smoothed down Booth's rumpled short while her partner's ex came into the room holding her son. Why the hell hadn't she changed into something more appropriate? Oh yeah, because she had spent the night on a whim, didn't bring any appropriate clothes along. And she had sex with her partner with this woman's son in the room down the hall. The idea of morals didn't mean much to Temperance Brennan, but she did consider herself to be someone with principles. And now, those principles were causing her to turn bright red while Rebecca held out her hand to her and greeted her with a smile. Oh, God, what this woman must be _thinking _of her…

Luckily, she had been practicing her social norms long enough now to override her panicking brain and reply to Rebecca. "Hi, Rebecca. Merry Christmas." Well thank God she had gotten that out. Rebecca seemed unfazed as she sat with Parker to open the last present: Brennan's. Booth sat down beside her on the couch and put his arm around her, took her hand, and everything in her stiffened up. What the hell was he _thinking? _Rebecca was going to think they were some kind of…._couple_ or something.

"I'm sorry, Bones. She was coming down the hall when I went out there. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you she was coming to get him." Well hell _yes _he should be sorry. At least given her the _opportunity _to hide in the bathroom or something until his ex had cleared out. _Stop being ridiculous, Tempe. You are all adults here. This is not an emergency situation._

"It's fine," she only half-lied. She talked through to her and Booth just how completely fine this all was. Good old cognitive restructuring. He kissed her and assured her he would make this embarrassment up to her. Well, _that _had potential.

A sound emanated from the other side of the room that she had been conditioned to recognize as the Parker-opened-his-gift shriek. She had almost forgotten that he was opening _her_ gift. "You like it?"

He told her he did, at a volume that nearly shattered her eardrums, and she knew she had made a good choice. She remembered her brief interlude at the Discovery Store, thinking of young Russ. What did she remember the most about her older brother? God, he loved the _grossest_ stuff. And when she had complained to her mother, she had laughed and smoothed her hair back from her face. "It's a boy thing, Tempe. Someday, he might grow out of it." She had winked. "If we are lucky." Of course, at this point in their lives, it was Brennan who was up to her eyeballs in the things that Russ would consider gross. But the comment still stuck in her mind.

Rebecca complimented her on her choice, and on finding the game, which was apparently in short supply this Christmas. That pleased her. "Seemed like something he would like." And, it didn't hurt that she was a preferred customer at the Discovery Store after spending nearly an entire paycheck on presents for her nieces there. She just couldn't believe all the fun, educational games there were for kids nowadays….she would have had a _stroke _from excitement in this place as a kid. The manager had made an extra effort to dig the last _"Totally Gross" _game from the back of the storage room for her.

Parker seemed momentarily deflated by the thought that this was his last present, before being cheered by the thought that there were sure to be more in Vermont. A thought occurred to him that had him suddenly ecstatic again. "Daddy, you and Bones should come with us to Vermont since you're not going to Africa anymore!" Brennan nearly fell out of her seat at the thought. Sorry, Park. Just because Bones has loosened up to the whole family thing, doesn't mean she's quite ready to participate in _that _particular family vacation.

Luckily, Booth saved her from having to explain. "Nah, bud, you go and have fun with your mom and Brent. Bones and I'll just stay here and hold down the fort until you get back. We'll play with all your new toys and make sure they work okay." An amused smile came over her face at the young boy's horrified expression, which disappeared into delight as Booth tossed him up and over his shoulder. Wow. The man was _so _strong. She couldn't help but stare a little, and she was again thrown into a flush when she caught Rebecca looking at her knowingly. She was redirected when Parker flung himself into her arms to thank her for the gift. Yes. She had done this before, not too long ago. Returning his enthusiastic hug, she felt warm inside. _You did good, Tempe. _What? Was her conscience _approving_ of her? Well, that was a first.

Booth went to gather Parker's things in his room, while the child made a game of balling up the leftover wrapping paper and trying to make baskets into trash cans Booth had brought into the room, cheering a little to himself whenever one went in. Rebecca turned to Brennan and smiled, and she felt another stab of insecurity. She _really_ wished she would be wearing her own clothes right now…

"It's good to see you taking some time off for the holidays, Dr. Brennan. Seeley tells me how hard you work…even more so than he does, and that's pretty incredible."

"Yes, well." Brennan ran her hand through her hair again self-consciously. "I had actually been planning on working. In Peru. But…some family stuff came up. So…" She almost said "So here I am!," but realized that the "family stuff" gave no good explanation as to why she was currently in Seeley Booth's apartment wearing his tee-shirt and playing house with him and his son on Christmas morning. This was absolutely intolerable. "Look, Rebecca…I don't want you to think…I mean, I really care for both Booth and Parker, and I just…"

"Dr. Brennan," Rebecca waved her off, obviously amused at seeing her, for once, at a loss for words. "Look…don't worry. I know that your presence here is very welcome, by both Seeley and Parker. And, for the record, if Seeley's going to have a girlfriend, and that girlfriend is going to be around my son…well, I'm glad it's you."

"What? Girl-…" Okay, this was all getting just a little _too_ weird. "Oh, no. It's not like _that."_She chuckled nervously, and she got a perplexed look from the woman across from her.

"Really?"

"Mom, I'm all cleaned up!" Parker was at their side, arms full of presents to carry down to the car.

"Okay, sweetie. Good job. Let's take that stuff down." Parker was halfway down the hallway before the words were out of her mouth. Laughing, Rebecca followed him, calling over her shoulder. "It was good to see you, Dr. Brennan. Take care of yourself."

Brennan shut the door behind them, immediately walking over to the couch and falling on it with a sigh, eyes closed. What an interesting morning it had been…become aware that she wasn't alone, she looked up into Booth's apologetic face. "I'm sorry, Bones."

Well, if they were going to do…whatever the hell they were doing…it probably wasn't completely realistic to keep it a complete secret for long. "It's okay. Let's just…not worry about it, okay? No big deal." She mostly meant it.

"Have I told you lately that I think you're pretty amazing?" She made him tell her again. Felt she deserved at least _that_ much for the embarrassment she had just dealt with. He waved a giant stuffed dog in her face, smiling gently at her, and whether she wanted to forgive him or not, she did. Unequivocally. "Be right back," he told her, and melted her with a kiss before he ran down to see off his son.

Left alone in the apartment, she thought about what Rebecca had said. "For the record, if Seeley's going to have a girlfriend, and that girlfriend is going to be around my son…I'm glad it's you." Silly. They had slept together once. Temperance Brennan had slept with men before _many _times and still not taken on that particular title.

She didn't want to think about it. There were more important matters to deal with at the moment. She looked around the room critically. Hmm. It would appear that there was a _lot_of redecorating to do in this apartment on this Christmas morning.

And they would have to start with that damn paint.

_**A/N: Hey guys, it's Kinsey, makin' ya a deal. Number one, we know you're a tish bit dissapointed with the lack of smut, but we KNOW you love the Parker fluff and the build-up to the smut. So just let that anticpation build a leeeeeetle bit longer. :) Nuber two, Jamie is spending the holiday with family. Family who has dial up internet. Do you know what ff dot net reviews do to dial up internet? Hee. So why don't you guys see if you can review so much that it crashes her computer? Fun face, right? Get to it:) We lurve you like Bren's startin' to lurve this family jazz!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Brennan watched the family saying goodbye though the living room blinds, thinking about how odd it was that she was so much more connected to two of them now than she was a mere 48 hours beforehand. Funny how quickly things could change, when given a chance. Booth and Rebecca were talking animatedly about something. Hopefully not about her, and her last-minute intrusion to the Booth boys' Christmas festivities. Rebecca didn't seem angry though, either in the apartment with them, or now, while Brennan observed from the window. Booth pulled his ex into a goodbye hug, and Brennan fought back a twinge of some primitive, possessive urge…_ "Mine. Don't touch." _Slightly embarrassed at herself, she let go of the blinds and left the family to part in privacy. She didn't like it when people treated _her _like property, and she certainly wasn't about to give into irrational jealousy now.

She turned back to the scene in the room. The lights on the Christmas tree were still twinkling merrily, but there was only one more present left beneath them. To Temperance Brennan, even that lone, wrapped box looked ostentatious after all the gifts they had received today. She began to pick up the remnants that remained on the floor—a few boxes and bags, tiny pieces of ribbon that Parker had missed, and the Santa hat that Booth had placed on his son's head when he first began to open his presents. It had made for a single cute picture before it fell off and remained on the floor in the excitement of the ripping and tearing. Now, she gingerly picked it up. Had there been a time when she believed in Santa? Yes. It was a long time ago. But she remembered. She pulled the hat over the auburn waves of her hair, and stared at the whimsical reflection of herself in the living room mirror. A small laugh escaped her. It looked _so _silly on her, a full-grown woman. But she looked happy.

"It's a good look for you." She hadn't heard Booth come back in from outside, and she turned around slowly at the sound of his voice, still smiling, and regarded him from the other side of the room.

"I'm not sure. I don't think it goes with the outfit." She gestured to the oversized, mismatched ensemble that she had chosen from Booth's extensive wardrobe.

"It doesn't. Not at all. But still…a good look for you." He was smiling, too. But looking at her with that adoring gaze that practically turned her to jelly. It disconcerted her a little. How could she change that adoration into desire?

"Does this help?" With a small tug, the tie that was holding Booth's pants around her slim waist came undone. She barely had to push before the soft material fell down around her hips and to the floor, where she stepped out of them. She watched his eyes run over every inch of her now-bare legs, which made her smile in satisfaction.

"Yes." Was that a tremble she heard in his voice? "Better."

"I think so, too," she whispered. Trusting that her rapidly rising internal temperature woud take care of the slight chill in the room, she took hold of the hem of the shirt, the one he would never again wear without thinking of her. "Probably…better without this, too, right?" Slowly, she raised the shirt up, over her hips, belly, ribs…and then she paused. "Or not…?"

Now, he was fully engrossed in her impromptu little strip show. _"Yes," _he hissed. "You know…yes."

The hunger in his eyes made her feel a little guilty for teasing him. She lifted the shirt again, this time not stopping when the edge of it brushed against her nipples and up over her head, carefully stretching it to keep the most important part of this wardrobe in place. Dropping it aside, she stood before him in her silky red panties, trying not to buckle under the intensity of his stare. And that stare felt as palpable as any touch, raking over her body. She had the sense that the only reason he wasn't at her side touching her right now was because he hadn't decided exactly where to start yet…nonetheless, she had to fight the urge to go to him, make him touch her all the places she had exposed for him. "Booth…"

"The rest," he interrupted, his voice gravelly. She knew exactly what he meant, even though, unlike the rest of her clothes, her panties actually matched the hat she was wearing quite well. Hooking her fingers around them, she pulled them off, for the first time standing in front of Booth completely naked and vulnerable to his penetrating eyes in the broad daylight. His gaze ran up and down her, silently, until she literally wanted to scream. Finally, he spoke. "No fair."

It didn't sink in. "No fair?"

"No fair unwrapping my present for me."

She got it this time. "I might have unwrapped it. But you get to play with it."

A hint of a smile returned to his face. "You're cheesy."

"You love it." It felt good, having these inside jokes with him. Finding her confidence again, she turned on her heels for the bathroom, sure she would be as irresistible to follow as he had been into that infamous dark room on Halloween night.

She had been right. It took a few seconds to start the water and get the temperature adjusted to her liking. But when she straightened up and turned around, there he was, so close that she easily felt his body heat radiating from him. He wasn't touching her yet. But she could feel every inch of him.

"Bones," he breathed. "You have any idea how long I've waited to see you like this?" He looked her up and down, hungrily. "Fuck. You are _perfect."_

While she wasn't the type of woman to fish for compliments, she couldn't help loving the words coming out of his mouth. "Really?"

Her teasing wasn't lost on him. "You're trying to make me lose control, aren't you? You want me to throw you in that shower and fuck the living daylights out of you."

Maybe. "Maybe. But first—I want you to take off those clothes. So there is nothing standing between my mouth and every inch of your body." She had no idea where the words came from, but she knew she had said the right ones when her naked body was suddenly in his arms, his tongue dueling feverishly with hers while they made a joint effort to skin off his shirt and pants. The process might have gone faster if they were willing to part for a second. But it was too much to ask. Before she knew what was happening, warm water was cascading over both of their bare skin while their mouths worked unsuccessfully to lick off every drop before it fell from the bodies to the tub. And even though the thought seemed illogical even to her, she had serious concerns at this moment that she might drown in this man.

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"Be good, Parker. Love you."

"I will, Daddy. I love you too."

Booth kissed his son's forehead quickly and slammed the door, turning to find Rebecca standing nearly on top of him. "Hi?" he asked warily.

"What did you do?"

"Excuse me?"

"She says she's not your girlfriend. That it's 'not like that,'" Rebecca air quoted. " I know you, Seeley, and your powers of persuasion are strong. What did you do?"

Exactly what he wanted to know. What _had_ he done to deserve the feisty blonde who was currently breathing down his neck questioning his romance tactics? Whatever it was, it had obviously pissed somebody off.

"Beck, it's complicated. She's… different from anyone I've ever dated."

"Well that's probably a good thing. Look at how those relationships have gone," Rebecca teased.

"Always gotta be bustin' my chops, don'tcha Stinson?" he teased back.

"Wouldn't be me otherwise, Booth," she smiled gently.

"For some odd reason that I may never _never_ understand," he paused to sigh dramatically and sling an arm around her shoulders, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

She smiled and waited, knowing there was more to come. Ideas of ways to explain it to her bounced around in his head, but none of them would even come close to making her understand what Temperance Brennan meant to him.

"Parker will always be my number one priority, you know that, right?" he asked.

Rebecca nodded. "Are you trying to change the subject?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "I just want you to know that even though there's this… _thing_ with Bones… and I really want to see what the hell it is and where it goes, but no matter what, Parker's my number one."

"I'm sorry I'm such a pain about Parker sometimes," she mumbled. Seeley paused, giving her her turn to continue. "It's kinda my new year's resolution to make sure I make a conscious effort to give you enough time with him. You're a great father, Seeley. I don't give you enough credit for that. I, uh, I talked to Dr. Brennan while you were in Parker's room."

"Really?" Booth questioned, knowing he'd only overheard part of the conversation.

"I, um, I told her if you were going to have a girlfriend and that girlfriend was going to be around Parker, that I was glad it was her."

"Thanks, Becky," he replied. "I'm not sure she's my girlfriend, or if she'll even want to be… but it means a lot to me."

"Just because I can't run a background check on your dates, doesn't mean I don't _care_, Seeley," she said, only half-kidding.

Booth rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

"Make this work, Seeley. Don't let her run you off like I did."

Booth gathered Rebecca against him and squeezed her tightly. "Have fun in Vermont."

"We will. I'll call when we get back."

Booth opened her car door for her and shut it again once she was in, waving to Parker as they drove away. He stood and watched them for a moment, until they disappeared from sight. He turned and headed back for the apartment, glancing up at his window when his highly-trained ranger senses caught some movement there. Thinking he would see Bones looking out the window, he was surprised to see only the white blinds. Odd. Shaking off the strange feeling, he pulled open the door and took the stairs two at a time, hurrying to see the greatest Christmas gift that had ever been bestowed upon him. Not to mention unwrap her.

When he stepped through the door, he stopped and watched her silently for a moment. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was. Did people ever see their true beauty? He knew he was a good looking guy, but the way he felt when he knew she was undressing him with her eyes… suffice to say it made him want to undress _her_. He smiled softly at the image she made standing between the tree and the fireplace, in his favorite tee shirt and his favorite pajama pants, Parker's Santa hat perched merrily over her tangled curls. Curls that had become tangled at his own hand. His fingers damn near itched with the desire to reach out and touch those curls again. He restrained himself and instead mentally told her how amazingly beautiful she was. Aloud he told her the Santa hat was a good look for her. She glanced at him in the mirror, a slow smile spreading across her face, one that he'd quickly learned meant he was in grave danger.

The moment she turned and her slender hands headed toward the drawstring on the pants, he knew he was right. She teased him and he teased right back, not even fifty percent sure of what he was saying, so shredded was his focus as her fingers played with the waistband of those damn pants. He sucked in a breath as she barely had to touch them to make them puddle at her feet. Damn. The pants had been cute, but her bare legs were a million times better. He told her so and she smiled. He almost felt _rude_, staring lecherously at her bare skin. His eyes tried to drink in every square inch, to burn it into his brain for the nights he knew they'd have to spend apart. The fantasies he created about her were nothing compared to the real thing. And he'd always prided himself on his active imagination.

She was saying something, but at the same time she was fingering the hem of the tee shirt she wore, and somehow the non-existent sound of her thumb and forefinger against the soft cotton was millions of decibels louder than her words. He stood there watching (slack-jawed he was sure), waiting, as the tee shirt slowly ascended her body. She paused right below her breasts and he knew she'd said something, and it was probably important, but fuck if he had heard her. He dragged his eyes from her beautifully sculpted hip bones and the deep crimson of her silky panties up to her blue eyes that he could swear were a little darker than they had been a second ago. "Or not?" she asked.

Or not what? Right now he wanted anything and everything in the whole world. He couldn't think of a single thing she could have possibly offered him that he would say no to at this point. So he didn't. He said yes. Over and over. At her slightly confused look, he reminded her that she already knew. She knew him. And again he breathed the single syllable. _Yes._

She dragged the shirt off, being careful to keep the Santa hat in place, much to his delight. He gave in momentarily to a dirty fantasy of her being his own personal Mrs. Claus. The Santa hat. Maybe a cute little white apron? Definitely the red panties. And maybe a pair of thigh-high black leather boots. Yes. The perfect combination of naughty and nice. "The rest," he begged. Hoping she knew he meant the panties and not the hat, he held his breath. She hooked her thumbs in the glittery red strings over her hips and dragged the panties to her feet, letting them join the pants. His eyes followed them to the floor and then dragged slowly back up, pausing over the apex of her thighs before roving farther up, up, up, slowly, delighting in the look in her eye when he got there. Her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip and he wondered momentarily if she was as hot for him as he was for her right now.

"No fair," he said. She questioned him and he told her of her crime: unwrapping his gift for him. She smiled and teased him, and it made him happy to see her relax enough to do so. And play with her he would. She turned on her heels and if she didn't think he'd follow her any-fucking-where she was going, she was dead wrong. Back to bed? Fine by him. Up against the hall closet? Worked great. Bent over the desk in the office watching themselves in the hall mirror? Okey-doke. He stood frozen for a moment, wondering what she'd do. Instead of any of those options he was mentally offering her, she padded wordlessly into the bathroom. He stayed behind, trying to catch his breath for a nanosecond, until he heard the water in the shower kick on and it occurred to him that he was suddenly feeling very _dirty_. Must. Get. Clean.

He stepped into the room and shut the door, standing quietly behind her while she adjusted the water to her liking. She'd seemed slightly startled to find him _right there_, but he could tell she was drawn quickly back into the moment at his words of praise of her, her body, her beauty. She teased him again and he smiled at how quickly she was learning her own ability to bring him to his knees.

"You're trying to make me lose control, aren't you? You want me to throw you in that shower and fuck the living daylights out of you." He sure as hell hoped so, because if she didn't, he knew there was no way he could get the water cold enough to calm himself down. Thank God and Santa she acquiesced to his plea so he could _finally_ pull her against him and kiss her like he'd wanted to since they'd been interrupted by Parker.

Once they managed to get him as naked as her (unfortunately, having to take off the hat as well…he mentally sighed at the sacrifice), he stepped into the tub, holding tightly to her hands as she stepped over the side, never once breaking the grip their lips had on each other. The steam was rising around them as they kissed and licked at each other and tried to catch their breath. He was so far beyond happy to have her in his arms like this that if by some strange chain of events he were to drown in this shower, he knew he'd have no thoughts in his head but these: _what a way to go._

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She had originally been a little disappointed at the two of them for abandoning their go-slow plan so easily. But now, with her bare breasts sliding against his wonderful chest in this wet paradise, she didn't know how they had even waited as long as they did. Her hands followed the trail of water down his back and to his ass, where she held on for dear life while he drank from the delicate skin between her throat and shoulder. Murmuring his name helplessly, she clung to him while his hands skimmed the wet planes of her body. "Booth."

"Huh." He was discovering that when he grabbed her ass like she was grabbing him, he could grind against her in a way that made both of them quiver. And he was taking full advantage of that knowledge.

"Get me clean fast. So we can do this the right way."

"This is the right way." He suddenly flipped her so she was facing away from him, pressing his hardened cock between the cheeks of her ass, his hands sliding up her to reach her breasts. He flicked the tips of her nipples, growling in satisfaction when they hardened for him and she thrust her chest into his willing fingers. "It's always going to be the right way." Nonetheless, he swiped the soap from its spot on the dish, quickly lathering up his hands before returning them to her body.

God, yes. The feeling of his soap-slippery hands sliding their way over her hips, against the creases of her thighs, pausing to cup her breasts fully this time before trailing over her shoulders and down her arms. His gentle touch was inflaming her; she wanted badly to grab his hands, make him be more forceful with her. But she knew that good things were coming. Her legs felt barely able to support her right now. "You are making me…" she gasped, unable to continue, sagging back against him.

"Crazy, I hope," he whispered in her ear, reaching her hands and sliding around her body again to run his fingers briefly over her sex. She jumped and moaned loudly, for the first time. His smile was felt against her skin. "Not quite a scream. But we'll get you there."

"You're setting the bar awfully high," she said weakly, but at the same time she had absolutely no doubts he would make that bar. Hell, she was already shaking with desire, seeming to feel every individual drop of water against her over-sensitized skin.

"I can go lower." His hand slipped fully now between her legs, letting his middle finger rest lightly between her swollen lower lips while the heel of his hand pressed against her clit, giving just a hint of friction there. Oh, the bastard. She writhed against his hand, trying to increase the contact. Wasn't he the one who threatened to toss her in the shower and fuck her silly? Why wasn't he _doing _it, then? This was torture. The best kind of torture, granted. But still. Her hand slapped wetly over his and her fingers pressed down, encouraging him to curl that strategically-placed middle finger right…yes. _There. _She had been empty for too many hours. "Three times," he said, his voice husky in her ear.

"What?" Why the hell was he talking in code when she could barely process the sound of her own name?

"This morning. Three more times. Once with my fingers. Once with my mouth. And once with my…"

And then she couldn't hear anymore because she was moaning too loudly, his fingers inside of her and around her touching her in all the right places, stroking her from the inside out and making her pump backwards desperately. Her wet hair was clinging to his chest while her head tipped back on his shoulder, begging him with her groans, _please, make me feel like I did last night, like you always make me feel, but all at once… _He was whispering encouraging words to her, words she couldn't hear over the cacophony of pleasure in her mind and body, but words that she loved anyway. She tightened around his fingers in preparation for her climax, and heard his groan in response. His excitement, in the face of hers, did it. With a series of whimpers, she came against his hand, jerking against it. He stroked her, prolonging the experience, telling her how hot it was when she came in arms.

It was awhile before she felt she could stand on her own again…her shuddering legs refused to take that burden for awhile. When the water grew lukewarm, she reluctantly disengaged herself from his arms, spun to face him again. Him, and that cocky smile, that ridiculously well-structured body that made her half-stupid whenever he displayed it for her. She pressed her lips to that smile and kissed him thoroughly until she had effectively made it disappear. "Thank you doesn't seem appropriate," she breathed against his mouth.

"There is nothing we are going to do today that's going to be appropriate," he promised her, smiling again until she took his aching cock into her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Show me," she demanded. And the rest of the cleaning process was made very quick and efficient before they turned off the now-cold water and raced one another, dripping wet, to the bedroom.

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Seeley was pretty impressed with his ability to make the good doctor lose her composure, not to mention her ability to speak. For some reason, as he raced her to the king-sized bed waiting for them, he remembered a survey the FBI had made all its agents take. One of the questions had to do with finding out if they were truly happy at work, and if the bureau gave agents the "opportunity to do what you do best every day." At the time he'd taken the survey, Seeley had felt that one of his greatest strengths was interrogation. He didn't get to do it _every_ day, but often enough that he'd given that question an answer of 5; strongly agree. But now he wanted to change his mind. He excelled at making Temperance Brennan orgasm. And he _certainly _wasn't given the opportunity to do _that_ at work every day.

"Would you get in here?" I'm freezing. And it's probably only going to get colder in here once the paint starts peeling off the walls," Brennan cajoled from the bed.

Seeley slid between the flannel sheets on his back and pulled her over him, wrapping the top sheet, blanket, and down comforter securely around them. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," she mumbled against his skin, kissing a path down his chest to his abs, and then she disappeared completely beneath the covers and he was feeling much warmer indeed. His breath hitched as he felt her soft breath tickling the skin of his thighs. He imagined it was a little bit like being blindfolded, since he had absolutely no idea what she was doing under there. And then, suddenly, he was made aware by her wet mouth. Holy… "Fuck, Bones," he breathed and heard (but more importantly, _felt_) her soft giggle from under the covers. He nestled deeper into the pile of pillows behind him, trying to relax and enjoy her slow torture. He'd had his fair share of fantasies about Temperance Brennan (hell, he'd just had the Santa hat fantasy an hour before) but none of them could compete with the real thing, which thrilled him and terrified him all at the same time. If she didn't answer the question he wanted to ask her the way he wanted her to answer it, the disappointment might be too much for him. And on top of that, the thought that it might drive her away from him…well, that thought was just too much to bear.

Soft suction from her mouth dragged him back to the present (he was amazed he was even still able to think) and he groaned loudly as he felt the tell-tale tingle in the base of his spine. One hand fisted in the covers as she ran her hot little tongue up and down his aching shaft, stopping to twirl around the head… and back in her mouth he went. How was she not suffocating? He wasn't even under the covers and he could barely breathe. The tension built further as she slowly pulled him to the brink of insanity. The hand that wasn't fisted in the covers stroked lovingly over her wet hair, not pushing, just trying to keep the emotional connection as well as the physical. She pulled gently with her mouth, making his hips arch up off the bed. Her delicate beautiful hands stroked up and down his thighs, her fingers stroking across them, to his shaft, lower to delicately touch his balls. "Bones," he breathed again, tossing the covers back. He'd intended to stop her, hold her, roll her over and whisper to her about how he wanted desperately to be inside her when he came, but the visual of her surprised eyes and her sweet lips wrapped around his cock was just too much. He let go, only because there was no possible way to stop. He felt all the clichéd feelings: the fireworks, the alarm bells, the chorus of angels – each of them bearing the beautiful features of his Bones.

As he slowly came back down from the intense explosion she pulled him to, she kissed a trail back up his body to his mouth, kissing him slowly, sweetly.

"I win," she mumbled against his lips. "You peeled paint off the walls first."

"For the record, I think your shrieking broke the mirror in the bathroom," he smiled, "but yes, Bones, that was…" he tried.

"Shh," she silenced him. "No explanation necessary. If I make you half as crazy as you make me..." she trailed off.

"Consider yourself a success, Doc," he teased, rolling her to her back. He trailed his hands down her body, worshipping her porcelain skin and marveling at the goose bumps he left in his wake.

"Seeley," she breathed, her eyes squeezed shut as he ran his hand where it had been several minutes earlier in the shower.

"I love the way you say my name," he murmured against her neck.

"Seeley," she whimpered again as he thrust two fingers inside her.

"Hmm. Looks like you didn't quite dry off after your shower," he teased. She snorted a chuckle that turned quickly to a whimper as he pulled his hand away.

"Relax," he smiled, kissing her lips gently. "I'll never be gone for long." He grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer and sheathed himself quickly, hovering above her. "Are you ready for me?"

"What if I said I wasn't?"

Gazing into her eyes very seriously, he stroked the wet hair back from her face. "Then I would spend as long as it took to get you that way." Feeling her resulting shiver underneath him, he knew he had given the right answer.

"As wonderful as that sounds…I'm ready. Please don't wait."

He wouldn't deny her. He pushed slowly into her, worried she might be a little sore from the events of the wee morning hours.

"Not going to break," she whispered breathily, rolling her hips up into his, and he heard the request behind her words. He pistoned into her with more force, both of them reaching out, racing toward the finish line this time. The slow lovemaking had its own charms, for sure, but their wait for one another seemed too long and too difficult right now to tame this powerful need. He wasn't sure he could convince his hips to return to that excruciating slow pace even if he wanted to right now, not when his lover was running her nails across his back the way she was, breathing his name at every thrust, begging him to _please, _Seeley, fuck her just like _that, _using her momentum to roll over on top of him and ride his cocklike she had been born to do it. Much to his satisfaction, she reached the line first, groaning out his name again in that way he so loved. Was he supposed to control himself when she felt like that, sounded like that? It pulled him right across that finish line with her, and he wrapped his arms around her in triumph as he rolled her to her back, kissing her with the last of his breath before collapsing himself.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he asked.

She kissed his pecs gently, reverently, balancing her chin on his chest. "You too," she agreed. "Don't tell me we're going to become one of those couples who run around telling each other how fabulous they are. 'You're amazing,' 'no, _you're_ amazing,' 'no _you_ are,' 'no _you,_'" she mimicked.

"Couples, huh, Bones?"

She blushed. "Out of everything I said, _that_ was what you picked up on?"

He chuckled at her slight embarrassment and leaned up momentarily to kiss the top of her forehead. They lapsed into silence, snuggling quietly, his hand running gently up and down her bare back.

"Hey Bones?"

"Mmm?" she questioned, the vibration strong against his chest.

"Can I have my present?"

She glared teasingly at him. "I was almost asleep, and you woke me up to ask if you could have your present?"

"Mhm."

"Fine. You can go get it. Only one left under the tree. Hook a right at the garbage can and it's just past Parker's mountain of ugly sweaters," she smiled, rolling to her side.

Booth slid out of the bed and walked slowly to the dresser, shaking his ass and flexing his glutes to earn a giggle from her. As he pulled a pair of Grinch boxers on, he marveled at how great it was to hear that giggle. In his opinion, it didn't happen nearly enough; and he was going to do everything in his power to make it happen more often. He pulled the neatly wrapped box containing her gift from the back corner of the drawer and turned back to the beauty in his bed. He tossed the box gently on the bed and she scrambled toward it. "Ah, ah, ah, Bones. No opening until I get back," he teased, wagging a finger at her.

"No fair," she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're kinda cute when you pout," he commented, dashing out the door just in time to duck the pillow she hurled in his direction.

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She loved his reactions to her. Every single one thrilled her. How rapidly he followed her to the bedroom, barely taking a second to dry off, obviously as eager to continue what they started as she was. How carefully he warmed her between his body and the covers when he joined her there. How sweetly he stroked her hair while she thanked him for gift number 1 in the shower, pouring all her gratitude (not to mention her lust) until pulling the same pleasure from him that he had from her, with her lips. The intensity of his groans had ascended at her ministrations, and she felt a heady sense of joy and power, knowing she could affect him like this. In the paint-peeling sense. Which she just _had _to remind him about after he lost control into her mouth and laid heaving against the pillows. Gotcha, Seeley Booth. She hadn't been expecting him to recover quite as quickly as he did, but she wasn't complaining when she ended up pinned beneath him, his returning hardness pressing against her eagerly. That was part of the fun of a new relationship, right? Temporarily having the stamina of a teenager.

He entered her carefully. Apparently forgetting that she was the same woman who had gone wild when he lifted her skirt and pounded her relentlessly at a costume party. The circumstances were different now. But a familiar ache filled her that she wasn't sure even three orgasms would relieve. She was insatiable for him, and she quickly learned the words and actions that would spur him deeper inside her, harder. It made him hot when she said his name, so she did, repeatedly, loving the way he jerked a little inside of her at the sound. At some point, she needed to find out what it was like on top of him, getting to know all the angles that made them both groan with delight. His eyes never left her as she rode him. That gaze again. Could she ever get used to that? Somehow, it both unnerved and aroused her, and she couldn't take her eyes away from his coal-dark ones. Her orgasm was upon her before she realized it was beginning, and her scream this time was accompanied by the eye contact that earlier, he had begged her for. Part of her felt incredibly vulnerable at that moment. But she embraced it, coming once more when she heard his returning cry and the throbbing of the part of him that was inside her. Jesus. They were going to need a nap before the morning was over. She had never felt so satisfyingly exhausted.

He told her she was amazing. She had been told it before, by friends, colleagues, fans, and lovers. But when it came from his lips, it sounded…true. She worried that they were going to be like one of those couples that disgusted her, the ones who needed to remind one another every waking moment of their specialness. He picked up on the word "couple" like a bloodhound when she said it, and it made her blush and reminded her of Rebecca's comment earlier. _Relax, Tempe. Enjoy the way this feels right now, without having to title it. _Striving to follow her own advice, she savored the delicious heaviness of her limbs and the post-orgasmic euphoria that filled her.

Apparently, before allowing her rest, Booth had one more, brightly-wrapped task in mind. The _presents. _She teased him for wanting it _now_, but was actually laughing internally that the present that had been her initial excuse for coming over here last night had suddenly become the very last priority of their little camping adventure. She might have volunteered to get it herself, but then remembered how much fun the little peep shows he gave her when crawling out of bed were. Doing a little dance for her, he made her fall back into the slightly damp blankets in a giggle. When he tossed his own gift on the bed in front of her, she was suddenly very interested in presents again. _Mine mine mine… _"Ah, ah, ah, Bones. No opening until I get back."

She thought about telling him he was no fun, but then realized it would be the biggest untruth that had ever passed her lips. As he left the room and she turned the box around slowly in her hands, she became briefly concerned with just how greedy she had become. Did she deserve all of this? Did _anybody? Better watch out, Tempe. Remember what happens when you get too used to good things…_

Quiet. Focusing on the bright, shiny bow on the top of her gift, she forced herself to forget about her less-than-impressive track record when it came to holding onto the beautiful things in life.

When Booth re-entered the bedroom he had to hold back a chuckle. Brennan was snuggled into the pillows, looking intently at the small box at the foot of the bed. "Who's winning the staring contest?" he asked.

"What took so long? Did you get lost in the video game maze?" she replied.

"Are you getting mouthy with me, kid?" he teased. "Mouthy little girls don't get their gifts."

She rolled her eyes and commented dryly, "Not a little girl, in case you haven't noticed. And besides…I thought you liked it when I got mouthy." Proud of her recent mastery of the double entendre.

He groaned and slid in next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Touche, oh beautiful one."

She flushed a little. "Open it," she motioned to his gift.

"Sure you don't want to open yours first?" he asked with a smile.

She shook her head silently and smiled. Well she didn't need to tell him twice. He ripped into the paper with the same fervor his son had displayed earlier that morning. He carefully pulled the lid of the box off to expose a beautiful snow globe. Across the bottom of the base were the words "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2007" and in the globe was the iconic image of Santa, the last float in every parade. He looked up her wonderingly. "I love it, Bones, thank you," he smiled and kissed her sweetly. "But you're going to laugh when you see your gift."

Confusion marred her beautiful face, so he just pecked her lips again and motioned for her to open the box. As she delicately removed the tape and the paper, she babbled. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. I thought it would be nice to have a reminder of the parade, and the city, and the pa--" she stopped short as she lifted the lid off her own gift and found the exact same snow globe that she had given him staring back at her.

Booth took the globe out of the box and held it in front of her, shaking it gently to make the glittery snow rain down around Santa's sleigh. "I got it to remind you of all the fun we had that day. But then today, I was thinking about your penchant for metaphors," he teased, "and it started to remind me of all the ways you've shaken up my life," he glanced at her, and smiled at the unshed tears shining in her blue eyes. She flung her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly, emotion filling her. "I didn't know you liked snow globes so much, Bones," he smiled, knowing full well that the hug had nothing to do with her affection for snow globes in general, but maybe a little for this particular snow globe – most especially the sentiment behind it.

"I love it," she whispered. That vulnerable feeling again…somehow slipping through her defenses and making her want to show him everything…

He continued to tease her to keep the mood light. "A dead tree and a ball of water and glitter. Wow. I wonder what would happen if I ever got you something _really_ exciting."

She laughed and released her hold on him to wipe at her eyes. He nestled both globes back into their respective boxes, put the lids on them and put them on the floor next to the bed. Wrapping her in his arms again, he snuggled down into the bed and mustered up his courage. "I have to tell you something, Bones."

She glanced up at him, her confused face back in place. "Hmm?" she asked, refusing to guess at what he might be thinking.

"I overheard your conversation with Rebecca. And how you told her we weren't… _like that_," he quoted.

She blushed slightly, but nodded honestly. "I didn't mean…I mean, it's not like I don't think this is _important, _but we haven't talked about _titles, _and just…well…don't want to make assumptions." Of course he had to have heard that. What was she supposed to say? How could a word like "girlfriend" possible even begin to sum up the things she had begun to feel?

"Well," he began, but had to stop to clear his throat. _Just breathe, Seeley. You once asked a woman to marry you. You can ask one to be your girlfriend._ "That is, um," he cleared his throat again. "The thing is, Bones," he stopped and swallowed.

She could barely stand the awkwardness after the ease of the last few hours. "Spit it up, Booth," she encouraged.

He smiled. "Spit it _out_, Bones."

"That's what I said," she teased. God, she was on a roll, wasn't she?

"Bones," he began again. "I… I mean, if you say no, it's okay, I mean it's not okay, but I'll _be_ okay. I mean I'll be _better_ if you say yes, but if you say no, I'll live." She was looking vaguely alarmed, and he mentally cursed his lack of smoothness. Spit it out, right. "Anyway, uh, I… I think I kind of want us to be _like that_. I mean I'm not saying it has to be all 'boyfriend/girlfriend' like 8th grade or something, I mean, we're not thirteen or anything here, it's just that I really, there's something _here_, Bones, you know? The city, the park, whatever. Wherever we are, when I'm with you, that's all there is, and I just, are you getting _any _of this?"

At this moment, she was charmed by his uncertainty, and couldn't bear to let him continue thinking he might be misunderstood. She placed her fingers delicately over his lips. "I think so."

"You think you get it?"

A thoughtful look crossed her face. "I think…I might feel the same." She wasn't sure she _wanted _to. She wasn't even sure how she knew. But…she did. Unequivocally.

"Really?" he asked with a broad grin.

"Yes. As long as you promise to continue to shake your ass and try to impress me. Then I don't think I can say no to the possibility of being...like _that._"

"Bones, Bones, Bones," he grinned, lowering his head to kiss her. "I'm always gonna try to impress you."

And she began wondering if track records really counted for much of anything when they were so very close to beginning such an exceptional new year.

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**A/N: Yay, Merry Christmas to you all!! We know this is kinda late, but hey. Christmas, New Year's, not to mention Kinsey's mom and Jamie both had birthdays in between! Very hectic! Thanks for your loving patience, and keep your eyes open for the festivities of the New Year, which will be right around the corner! WE LOVE YOU!! XOXO, Kinsey and Jamie**


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